Need You Now
by xoxoRuflyGirl
Summary: The story of Rufus and Lily's first meeting as told by me.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: I'm sorry this first chapter turned out to be so long. I didn't mean for it to be. I'll try not to make the others this long, but no guarantee! They never really said much on how Rufus and Lily met, so I decided to write my own story on it. This is my take on it, and I hope you all enjoy it. When I heard the song _Need You Now_, it reminded me of Rufus and Lily, so I decided to make it the title. So, here is the first installment. Enjoy! :) - Xoxo Rufly Girl_

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 1: First Meeting**_

"We really picked a bad time to come over for dinner. Look how badly it's pouring out!" Dan said, looking out the window of Lily and Rufus' apartment.

Jenny came up behind him and peered over his shoulder. She saw that it was indeed a full blown downpour. She smirked. "At least Eric and I don't have to go out in it. We live here."

Eric grinned, and raised his glass. "Amen to that!"

Serena sighed, and threw herself down onto the couch. It figures it decides to pour like that only when we're ready to leave."

"Well, it was nice to have some family time. We haven't had a family dinner in a long time," Rufus stated.

A loud clap of thunder hit so loud it made Jenny jump and scream.

Eric snickered, and playfully nudged her arm with his fist. "Chicken much?"

Jenny rolled her eyes and walked away from the window. "Shut up, Fag Boy."

Eric shrugged. "Whatever, Bitch."

Lily was appalled. "Hey, you two, there's no need to get nasty. I thought you guys were finally getting along again."

Eric and Jenny both laughed.

"We're just joking around, Lily," Jenny assured her.

Eric nodded. "It's all in good fun."

"Kids sure have a different idea of fun nowadays than we did as kids," Rufus commented.

Lily nodded.

Another loud clap of thunder hit, and moments later, lightning struck as well.

"I picked a heck of a night to come down to see you guys," Scott stated. He got up from the dining room table, and sat down on the floor.

Jenny sat down next to him, and Eric sat on his other side.

Dan sat down next to Serena on the couch, and Rufus took Lily's hand, leading her over to the love seat to sit down with him.

"It looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while, Scott. Sorry," Dan said to his half-brother. Scott was supposed to stay the night at the loft with him, but there was no way Dan was going to head out in the pouring rain—taking a taxi or not.

Scott shrugged. "It's all right. It's kind of nice hanging out with my family and getting to know them."

Chuck came out of the bathroom then, and sat down with the others, choosing a plush chair near Rufus and Lily. "It's nasty out, isn't it? Blair can be happy she is visiting her fathers in France. She hates the rain—can't stand getting her hair and clothes wet."

Jenny smirked. "Heaven forbid the former queen ruin her Christian Louboutins."

Chuck shot her a look. "Be nice," he said in his monotone—serious even though it sounded like he didn't care.

Jenny just smirked, and gave him a shrug.

Chuck turned his attention back to Rufus and Lily. "I appreciate you inviting me tonight. It means a lot that you still consider me family."

Lily smiled at him. "Of course I still consider you family! I adopted you, remember? I don't care if you're an adult now. You are still my son."

Chuck smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

"Well, since none of us seem to be too keen on leaving, what should we do?" Serena asked, tucking her legs underneath her and getting more comfortable on the couch.

"Well, we could play some boardgames. Those are always fun!" Lily suggested.

"How 'bout no?" Jenny smirked. "Sorry, Lily, but teenagers don't like to play boardgames anymore."

"Well, then what do _you_ suggest we should do?" Rufus asked, secretly missing the days where Jenny was his sweet little girl without the teenage attitude.

Jenny shrugged. "Anything as long as it's not as cheesy as boardgames."

"I have an idea," Scott spoke up before Rufus could condone Jenny for being so rude about Lily's idea.

Lily smiled. "What's that, honey?"

Scott looked a little embarrassed to be asking, but he did anyway. "Well, I'd like to hear how you and Rufus met. Was it love at first sight? I want to learn more about you guys, and about how I came to be."

Rufus and Lily looked at each other and smiled.

Rufus placed a hand overtop of Lily's thigh and gently rubbed it. "It was love at first sight for _me_."

Lily smirked at Scott. "For me, it took a little while. But when I finally did fall, I fell hard."

"Now this is interesting! You've never even told _us_ this story!" Jenny said, leaning forward in anticipation.

Eric nodded. "Tell us! I know about how you met your other husbands, but not how you met Rufus."

"Tell us!" Serena chimed in.

"This should be interesting," Dan stated.

Chuck nodded. "Indeed," he agreed.

Rufus took Lily's hand and kissed it. "You want to start?"

Lily smirked. "All right."

And so, with her husband's hand in her own, Lily began the story of how she met her soul mate.

"Well, my mother was basically the same way when I was younger as she is to this day. She was overbearing, and I was determined to do whatever I could to break free from her..."

* * *

"What are you wearing?" Cece asked as Lily walked into the kitchen.

"What's it look like?" Lily asked; annoyed. She couldn't do anything without her mother questioning her anymore.

"Don't get smart with me!" Cece snapped. "Why are you wearing that to school? It's not appropriate school attire!"

Lily looked down at her outfit, which consisted of black vinyl knee-high boots, black tights, a very short leather skirt that went just below her butt, and a half shirt that was a black Nine Inch Nails T-shirt only cut at the bottom; exposing her stomach, which was adorned with her new belly chain. She wore a black leather jacket to finish off the look. "I'm going to a concert after school. It's in Trenton. Jenny is going to drive us there straight from school."

Cece shook her head. "No, she's not. You're only seventeen. You don't need to be going to another state to see some vile rock band. I won't have it!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Please! You make it sound like it's in California! It's only a half hour away. Give me a break! Anyway, I'll be eighteen in a few months. I'm not a kid anymore, mother. I have great seats besides! I'm going to get some great shots for the school paper." She was a photo journalist for _In The Know, _the school paper. She was a damn good one in her opinion. She had never once had a complaint. All the cool kids loved Nine Inch Nails, and would totally be worshiping at her feet if she got some nice shots of the band—particularly of Trent Reznor. She smiled at the thought.

"You're still not going. I expect to see you home right after school," Cece said, her arms crossed over her chest. She was clearly not open to discussing this any further.

Lily rolled her eyes, and grabbed her leather backpack. "Whatever. I'm going." She took off out of the house then, slamming the door behind her.

Jenny beeped, just pulling up in her red convertible. The top was down. "Hey, Sexy Chick! You ready to rock tonight?" She leaned over and opened the door for Lily.

Lily grinned, and threw her bag in the back before sliding into the passenger side and shutting the door beside her. She put on her seatbelt as she answered. "You know it!"

"So, how did your mom take the news?" Jenny asked as she drove away.

Lily rolled her eyes. "First, she said my outfit wasn't appropriate for school, and then she said I couldn't go."

Jenny smirked. "So, what'cha tell her?"

Lily smirked. "I told her, whatever, I'm going anyway."

Jenny laughed. "Way to go! Standing up to your mother!" She held out her hand, and Lily high-fived her.

Jenny briefly glanced over at Lily. "You look pretty smokin' hot to me!"

Lily grinned. "Which is exactly why my mother didn't like it! Oh well. She'll get over it. You look pretty smoking hot too, you know." She admired Jenny's pink mini dress. It was a cotton candy pink with an open back. The front had a peep hole that went from below the breasts to the bottom of the belly button. It was lined in black, and had a black belt with gold-lined holes all along it. She wore no tights, but her legs appeared to be freshly waxed. On her feet were clear platform shoes.

Jenny shook her blond, spiral curls. "Why thank you! I hope Chris thinks so." Chris Vrenna was the Nine Inch Nails' drummer, and Jenny was completely gaga over him. It was okay, because Lily was completely gaga over Trent Reznor.

Lily licked her lips and pulled down the makeup mirror. "Don't worry. He'll be eating out of the palm of your hand, just as Trent will be eating out of mine." She kissed the air in front of the mirror.

Jenny grinned. "Hell yeah, sister!"

They both laughed, then Jenny turned up her Nine Inch Nails CD.

"I love this song!" Jenny exclaimed as "Down In It" began to play.

"Me too!" Lily said excitedly.

The rest of the way to school, Lily and Jenny sang along as the CD blasted Nine Inch Nails' latest album, Pretty Hate Machine.

Lily was happy that she at least had the coolest best friend even if she had the lamest mother.

* * *

"So, you had a friend named Jenny? Cool!" Jenny said with an appreciative grin.

"You were named after her," Rufus piped in.

"Really?" Jenny asked in surprise.

Dan raised an eyebrow. "You named your daughter with mom after Lily's best friend?"

Rufus blushed. "Well, Jenny had a big part in Lily and I getting together." He smiled at Lily, who smiled knowingly back at him. He gently rubbed her thigh again.

"How so?" Jenny asked with a grin.

"And mom had no problem with this?" Dan asked with surprise and disbelief.

Rufus grinned. "Well, she just thought I really liked the name. What she didn't know, didn't hurt her. It wasn't a _total_ lie. I do really like the name. I started liking the name when Jenny brought Lily and I together. Don't get me wrong—you both were conceived in love—but Lily was always number one in my heart. As horrible as it sounds, I was just settling with your mother."

"Yeah, let's not talk about Jenny and I being conceived, all right?" Dan asked.

"I'm just glad I'm over the whole wanting you and mom together thing. Otherwise, that would have hurt, you telling us that," Jenny said.

Rufus shrugged. "I'm sorry! I'm just being honest."

"Are you going to answer Jenny's original question about how Jenny brought you together, or not?" Chuck asked, again in his usual nonchalant tone. Anyone who didn't know him might have thought he was being rude. Rufus and Lily knew he was just curious.

"We'll get to that later. Right now, let's get back to the concert," Lily said with a smirk. "Everyone at school was so jealous that Jenny and I were going to the Nine Inch Nails concert—especially since we had front row seats. Tickets were hard to come by as it was. But, lucky for us, Jenny had a cousin who happened to be an usher at the arena, and her cousin had won the tickets at an employee raffle at the Christmas party a few months before. Also lucky for us, he wasn't a Nine Inch Nails fan, so the tickets went to Jenny and I."

* * *

After school, Lily and Jenny hopped into Jenny's car and left for the concert right away.

"Let's wait until we get there before we get dinner. I'm surprised my mother didn't come to school to escort me home herself!" Lily said to Jenny as they pulled onto the highway.

Jenny laughed. "I hear ya! Everyone is so jealous of us. Did you see the look on Tammy's face when she heard we had front row seats? She looked like she was going to scream."

Lily laughed too. "I don't even think she is a Nine Inch Nails fan. She just thinks she has to have everything the popular kids have."

"Yeah, well, she'll never be popular. She has to lose at least a good ten pounds first, and then get rid of the braces and the acne. Is that her face or a pepperoni pizza?" Jenny asked.

Lily laughed. "You're so bad!" She took out a cigarette from her purse and lit it.

Jenny glanced over at her. "Does your mom know you smoke yet?"

"No, and she never will. It's none of her business," Lily said nonchalantly.

"At least _your_ mother cares. My mom stopped caring once my dad died." Jenny held out her hand. "Let me have some of that."

Lily handed her the cigarette, and Jenny took a puff, closing her eyes and inhaling. She opened her eyes and blew the smoke out slowly before handing the cigarette back to Lily.

"I really wish you wouldn't close your eyes when you drive. I'd at least like to make it to the concert before we get killed," Lily teased. She took another puff of the cigarette.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "It was just for a second. I find I can savor it better if I close my eyes."

Lily shook her head. "You're so weird."

Jenny shrugged. "What? The other senses are intensified when you go without one of the senses."

Lily just smiled, and smoked more of her cigarette. "Who's the opening band anyway?"

"Some band I never heard of before called Lincoln Hawk. They're probably lame, but whatever. They aren't who we're going for anyway. Give me some more." Jenny held out her hand.

Lily handed over the cigarette. "Finish it. Yeah, as long as I see Trent, I don't care if the _Muppets_ open up for them."

Jenny giggled. "Yeah, and Trent can sing while Animal plays the drums and Rolf the dog plays the keyboards."

They both laughed.

"Are you sure this isn't pot instead of a cigarette?" Jenny joked regarding their laughing at the idea of the Muppets opening up for Trent Reznor.

"I wish!" Lily said with a grin.

An hour and a half later, they were there. They picked up a quick dinner at Burger King, then headed to the arena.

They went to the bathroom to touch up their makeup and hair. There was a line of girls primping in the mirror, but Lily and Jenny pushed their way through them.

"Most of these girls can primp all day and night and still wouldn't have a chance of looking as good as we do," Jenny mumbled in Lily's ear, just loud enough for Lily to hear.

Lily giggled loudly, then covered her mouth in embarrassment.

A few of the girls looked at her strangely.

"Well, we both look amazing, so let's go to our **front row seats**!" Jenny said to Lily, making sure everyone in the bathroom heard where their seats were.

Every girl in the bathroom, well the ones that weren't in the stalls anyway, gave them jealous looks.

Lily and Jenny both grinned, then walked out arm-in-arm to head to their seats.

They ran into Jenny's cousin Chuck, who was ushering that night. "Hey, you look hot!" Chuck said with an appreciative glance up and down at Lily's outfit.

Lily grinned."Thank you! I know." She primped her hair.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Dream on. Her heart belongs to Trent."

"Your seats are straight down this way," Chuck said, using his flashlight to point to the pathway.

"Thanks, Cuz!" Jenny said, clapping him on the back then grabbing Lily's hand and practically dragging her down the aisle.

Lily laughed. "Relax! They aren't going to go on for another half hour."

"I still want to make sure we are right there looking hot when they do finally come on." Jenny said.

They found their seats, which were right in the middle of the front row.

"Perfect! I'm going to be able to get some amazing shots for _In The Know_," Lily said, pleased with herself.

Jenny smacked the air beside her. "Yeah, yeah. I just want a clear shot of Chris' crotch when he comes out from behind that drum kit!" She raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

Lily grinned at her. "I'll make sure to get some shots of that too."

Jenny laughed, and high-fived her. "Right on!"

During the next five minutes, Jenny talked with fans around them while Lily made sure her camera was loaded, and that she had her extra ten rolls of film with her—just in case.

Finally, the opening band came on.

"What's up everybody? It's Lincoln Hawk!"

Lily looked up just out of curiosity as to what this Lincoln Hawk band looked like. Her heart did a little jump when she saw the lead singer, who had apparently been the one who asked the fans what was up. He was of average height and had hazel-colored eyes. He had dark hair that was long enough to be in his eyes, but not quite as long as Trent's. He was a little more pretty boy than Lily liked, but he was definitely good looking. She couldn't deny that! He wore a black T-shirt and ripped blue jeans with a leather cuff around his right wrist. On his feet were black low-top converse. Style-wise, he almost looked like he was from the fifties mixed with the eighties. He looked no older than her age though.

"This first song is about a woman who is no good, and saying goodbye to all her drama! It's called 'Bye, Bye, Babe.'"

Lily smirked. "Bye, Bye, Babe?" Well, that was a lame title. But, when he began to sing, she decided that she really shouldn't judge a song by its title. The guy was not only good looking, but a pretty good singer as well. She scanned the rest of the band. They were okay looking, she guessed. None of them were as good looking as the lead singer though. She snapped a few pictures of him just for the heck of it. Some people at school might be curious who the opening act was. It had nothing to do with how hot he was. Of course not. She was there for Trent and nobody else.

The song ended, and the lead singer bowed. "Thank you! Before, we do another one, let me introduce you all to the band. Once again, we are called Lincoln Hawk. I am Rufus Humphrey. He turned to his band behind him. "On keyboards, we have the very talented John Adams—in no relations to the former president. On drums, we have the rockin' Jerry Berkhime, on base guitar we have the handsome Andy Taylor, and on electric guitar, we have the infamous Bobby Baker." He turned back to the crowd. "If you ever get a chance to meet him, ask him why he's so infamous." He raised an eyebrow. "You'd be surprised." He smirked, then stroked up his acoustic guitar. "Now, back to the music. This one is called, 'I Want Your Sex.' I think the title says it all."

Lily watched Rufus in awe. She had no idea why. She was just drawn to him.

He caught her staring at him, and he smiled at her.

She felt her heart jump, and she quickly looked away; blushing. She risked a glance again after a moment, and saw that he was still staring right at her.

He licked his lips as he continued to sing, his eyes not once leaving hers. "On the bed, on the floor, I don't care where. All the time you're in my head; got me craving so much more."

Lily bit her bottom lip, feeling slightly turned on. _What's my problem? He's not _that_ cute. He thinks he's cuter than he is. What kind of name is Rufus anyway? It sounds like dufus!_

He shook his pelvis in an almost Elvis like manner, and Lily felt that turned on feeling again.

_Lily, get a grip. He looks at all the girls that way, I'm sure. He's just showing off now. You hate showoffs, and you know it!_

Lincoln Hawk finished the song, then Rufus announced that they would just be singing one more. "Were going to leave you with a ballad, but don't worry. We know Trent and the boys will bring it bak up once they get out here. This one is called 'Taking Back You.' We hope you enjoy it as much as we love playing it."

They began the song, and Lily was impressed. She couldn't deny it. Rufus' ballad voice was just as nice as his up-tempo voice, if not nicer. It was a little raspy, but it was hot. Not as hot as Trent's voice though. Of course it certainly wasn't. She wasn't crushing over the opening act's lead singer. Please! She had better taste than _that_!

_"You don't even have a clue. You don't see me coming, but here I am. I'm taking back you." _

As Rufus sang, his eyes were on her again, and Lily again found herself enthralled. For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

When the song ended, he winked at her, then turned his attention back to the crowd in general. "Well, I want to thank you all for coming out tonight, even though I know you are here for Nine Inch Nails, and not Lincoln Hawk. However, we will be touring with them for the rest of the tour, so hopefully eventually some of you will start coming out to see Lincoln Hawk as well! If you like what you heard tonight, our self-titled album is for sale with the Nine Inch Nails merchandise for ten dollars. Thank you all again! Nine Inch Nails will be on in just a few minutes!"

The crow cheered, and the band walked off stage, but not before Rufus smiled at Lily and winked at her again.

Lily shot him a half smile in return, then Rufus headed back stage and the stage lights went out, leaving the stage in darkness for the set switch.

"So, how did you like him?" Jenny asked, gently nudging Lily.

"Hm? Like who?" Lily asked, a little embarrassed. Had Jenny seen her staring?

"No! I said, how did you like _them_? As in Lincoln Hawk!" Jenny corrected her.

Lily blushed, hoping the dimly lit arena hid her blush. "They were all right. They're a far cry from Nine Inch Nails though. Did _you_ like them?"

Jenny nodded. "They were pretty cool I guess. Is my makeup still good?"

Lily nodded. "Mine?"

Jenny nodded. "Perfect, Sista!"

They grinned at each other, then waited for their favorite band. They hoped it wouldn't be too long.

* * *

"Well, I know I couldn't have been named after Jenny's cousin," Chuck said with a smirk.

Lily smiled. "No, that was a complete coincidence. Not that your parents would have ever named you after my best friend's cousin. Your father and I didn't even meet until four years ago. I never knew your mother."

Chuck nodded.

"So, is anybody hungry for dessert yet?" Rufus asked. Everyone had been too stuffed after dinner to try out his double chocolate cake he had made. And here he had been so excited about making his first cake from scratch.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Not yet. Please, tell us more," Scott begged.

Jenny nodded, and rested her head on Scott's shoulder. "Tell us!"

Lily and Rufus smirked at each other.

Rufus nodded at her. "Go ahead and tell them, I like hearing _you_ tell it. I'll tell some of it later."

Lily nodded. "All right, all right. Nine Inch Nails came on shortly after, and Jenny and I had a blast, dancing on our chairs and singing along. We kept getting asked to get off the chairs. We would at first, but we kept getting back on the chairs, and security finally gave up. I think _everyone_ ended up dancing on their chairs. They couldn't kick us _all_ out! I took five rolls of pictures. I knew they'd never all make it into the school paper, but I didn't care. I was crazy about Trent, and Jenny was crazy about Chris."

* * *

"That concert was awesome!" Jenny said, grabbing Lily by both arms after they had made their way back onto the street.

Lily grinned, and grabbed Jenny's arms in return. "I know, right?"

They both screamed with excitement, and jumped up and down.

Jenny then nodded towards the back where the tour buses were. "Come on, let's go see if we can catch them coming out!"

Lily nodded, and ran after Jenny towards the back of the arena.

They found the buses, and waited not so patiently with the rest of the fans who had the same idea.

"Make way, coming through!" Jenny said, pushing past the fans to the front, and ignoring their complaints. "We're media." She nodded towards Lily.

"Where's _your_ camera?" a chubby girl of the African decent asked Jenny.

"I'm here for interviewing, she's here for photographing. Now back off!" Jenny snapped. Jenny could get vicious when she wanted something bad enough. The poor girl must have sensed it, because she backed right off.

The first to come out was Lincoln Hawk.

Jenny didn't even bother with them. Most of the teeny boppers were all over them already anyway.

However, one lone member walked right over to them.

Lily watched in surprised and half in horror as Rufus walked right over to her with a big smile on his face. "Hey, you. Did you enjoy the show?"

Lily hesitated for just a moment. Who was he to act like he knew her? Just because she was pretty and in the front row didn't mean he could get something out of her. She was no groupie. At least not for Lincoln Hawk. She had seen his type before many times. "I enjoyed it once Nine Inch Nails came on."

He laughed. "And You didn't enjoy it when Lincoln Hawk was on?"

Lily shrugged. "You guys were decent. You have a long way to go though. I mean, after all, you are just an opening act."

Rufus made a face. "Ouch!"

Lily shrugged. "I just say what's on my mind."

He grinned. "I like that in a woman. Are you coming to any of our other shows? We have the day off tomorrow, but we're doing a show in Hartford."

Lily shrugged. "Sorry, but no. I only had tickets for this show."

"Well, lucky for you, I happen to have these." Rufus pulled two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Lily over the barrier. "I'll also tell security to put you and your friend on the list so you guys can get backstage afterwards if you'd like."

Lily eyed the tickets, but didn't take them. They were front row. She kept her calm. She didn't need anything from him. She wasn't going to turn to putty in his hands just because he was cute. He was probably used to girls falling at his feet, but she was not going to be a statistic. "No thanks, I'm good."

"Aw, come on! Don't tell me you don't want to see Nine Inch Nails again." He gave her a knowing smile.

Jenny elbowed Lily. "Lily, don't be a fool! It's front row again to Nine Inch Nails! Imagine how jealous everyone will be of us! And, you'll get to see Trent again, and I'll get to see Chris! He's getting us backstage too, hello!" she muttered through her teeth in Lily's ear.

Rufus grinned; apparently having heard anyway. "Listen to your friend, Lil. It's too good of an opportunity to pass up!"

Lily rolled her eyes, and took the tickets. "Fine. But My name is _Lily_; not Lil. I'm Lily Rhodes, and this is Jenny Franklin. Thanks for the tickets." It didn't come out too sincere.

Jenny nodded. "Thank you so much!"

Rufus smiled ay Jenny. "You're welcome, Jenny!" He turned to Lily and grinned. "You're welcome, Lil. See you in two days." He winked at her, then took off, laughing at the annoyed look on Lily's face at being called Lil despite what she had just told him.

Jenny smirked. "It looks like _someone_ has the hots for you."

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend. "Yeah, well the feeling's not mutual. I only accepted the tickets so we can meet the band. And by the band, I don't mean Lincoln Hawk!"

Jenny smiled. "I don't know. He's kind of cute!" She playfully nudged Lily.

Lily gently pushed her away. "Shut up! He's not _that_ hot. Trent's much hotter."

Jenny nodded. "And Chris is even hotter than Trent!"

Again, Lily rolled her eyes. "Dream on!"

Jenny playfully pushed Lily, who playfully pushed her back.

They laughed, and waited a half hour more in case Nine Inch Nails came out, but the band never came out.

With a sigh, the girls gave up and headed back to the car.

"Well, there's always the day after tomorrow, thanks to Rufus," Jenny said with hope.

"If he comes through with his plans. I'll believe it when I see it!" Lily said, cynically.

"He has the hots for you. He'll come through," Jenny said as she pulled the car out of the lot.

"Stop saying that!" Lily complained.

Jenny smirked. "What? That Rufus has the hots for you?"

Lily turned up the Nine Inch Nails CD. "I can't hear you!"

Jenny laughed. "Well, at least if Trent doesn't happen, you have a backup plan."

Lily ignored her and started singing along at the top of her lungs to "Sin."

Jenny glanced over at her with a smirk. Then, she gave up. She put her eyes back on the road then sang along just as loudly with Lily.

* * *

"Sheesh! You were harsh, mom!" Eric said.

"Tell me about it! It gets worse! Just wait for it!" Rufus said. He looked at Lily. "You were so mean. I'm surprised I even bothered. You were too beautiful to give up on though."

Lily blushed. "I was headstrong at that age. I was in denial," she said to Eric. She then turned to Rufus, and gently stroked his cheek. "I'm glad you never gave up on me."

Rufus smiled at her. "I'd never give up on you." He kissed her.

"Okay, gross! No one wants to see their parents making out," Serena complained. "Keep going!"

Rufus broke the kiss to grin at her. "Keep going? All right." He went back to kissing Lily.

Lily smiled, and wrapped her arms around him.

"No! Keep going with the story!" Serena said with a laugh, knowing Rufus was teasing her.

"Yes! It's getting so good. Please?" Scott pleaded.

Lily broke the kiss this time. "All right."

Rufus rolled his eyes, and sat back with his arms crossed over his chest. "Party poopers," he teased.

Lily smirked, and continued the story. "I had almost forgotten that my mother was against me going to the concert. I got a big reminder once I arrived home."

* * *

"Lily, wake up! Why are the police at your house?"

"Hm?" Lily slowly opened her eyes at the sound of Jenny's voice. She must have fallen asleep, because the music was off, and they were now at her house. "Hm? The police? What?"

"Look!"

Lily sat up straight, and looked to where Jenny was pointing. Sure enough, there was a cop car in the driveway, its red and blue lights flashing. "Oh my gosh, mom!" She jumped out of the car.

"Do you want me to stay?" Jenny asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, it's all right. Go home before you're too tired to drive. I'll call your cell later."

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked.

Lily nodded. "Go. I'll call you, I promise!"

"You better!" Jenny called after Lily as Lily ran into the house.

Jenny took off then, and Lily found her mother and two officers sitting in the living room. The two officers were sitting on the couch with a pad of paper and a pen. There was a tray with two mugs of coffee, creamer, and a container of sugar on the coffee table, along with two mugs filled with coffee. Cece was sitting on a chair in front of the couch, her hands wringing together.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Lily asked, coming into the room.

The officers looked up at her at the same time Cece did.

Cece jumped out of her chair. "Lily! Where on earth were you? I was worried sick when you didn't come home from school!"

"I told you I was going to the concert. You called the cops?" Lily could hardly believe it.

"I told you you couldn't go! When you didn't come home from school, I expected the worst! You could have been kidnapped for all I know!" Cece exclaimed.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Kidnapped from school?"

"It could happen!" Cece snapped.

"Well, I told you I was going anyway," Lily reminded her.

"I don't remember you telling me any such thing!" Cece insisted.

"Well, then you're either deaf or senile," Lily quipped.

"Don't get smart with me young lady!" Cece snapped.

"So, she's not missing then," one of the officers said. It was a statement; not a question.

Both officers stood up.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Officers. I honestly thought someone had taken my daughter," Cece said; clearly embarrassed.

"It's all right. It's always good to be safe rather than sorry. Just make sure next time, all right? We get a lot of calls, and we really can't be showing up places we really aren't needed when there are people who really do need us," the other officer said.

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm so sorry," Cece said.

"Have a good night, Ma'am," the officer said with a nod.

"Thanks for the coffee," the first officer said with a nod as well.

"You're welcome. I'll see you to the door," Cece said.

She walked the officers to the door, wishing them both a goodnight. Once they were gone, she shut and locked the door, then turned to Lily. "You're grounded for a month!"

Lily gasped. "What? No way! It's not _my_ fault you weren't listening!"

Cece slammed her first down on the lamp stand. "Watch your tone! And it is your fault for going to the concert even after I told you no! I hope it was worth it because you're not going to another concert for a very long time! No go to bed! Get out of my sight. I can't even stand to look at you now, I'm so angry."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Whatever, Mother." She stormed off to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

She threw herself down onto her bed with a frustrated cry, then took her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. She dialed up Jenny's number.

"It's about time!" Jenny said, having picked up on the first ring. "What happened?"

Lily rolled her eyes even though she knew the motion would go unseen. "My mother called the cops because I didn't come home from school. I told her I was going to the concert anyway, and she just chose to ignore me! I swear I'm moving out of here the minute I turn eighteen."

"We can get our own apartment," Jenny said.

"Sounds good to me!" Lily agreed.

"Gosh, your mother's so psycho!" Jenny stated. "I can't believe she called the cops!"

Again, Lily rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it! She grounded me for a month for going to the concert after she told me no. What am I, thirteen?"

"Well, what are you going to do about Hartford?" Jenny asked. "Are you going to let her keep you imprisoned?"

"Heck no!" Lily exclaimed. "I'm going. She's not going to stop me—especially not from seeing Trent."

"Are you sure you don't men Rufus?" Jenny teased.

Lily laughed. "Shut up!"

"Lily, you better not be on the phone after I just grounded you!" Cece's voice came from down the stairs.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I better go. The warden knows I'm on the phone."

Jenny laughed. "Tough break. All right. I'll see you in school tomorrow then. You _are_ still allowed to go to school, right?"

Lily smirked. "Yeah, right! Like she'd ever let me skip out on my education. See you tomorrow. Have a good night. Sweet dreams of Chris!"

"And sweet dreams of Rufus—I mean Trent!" Jenny teased.

"Good night, Jenny!" Lily said, unamused. She hung up the phone, then got off the bed and got ready for bed. She went to the bathroom, then came back in her room. She shut her door and turned off the lights, then climbed into bed, the moonlight through the widow now providing her only light. She hugged her pillow and closed her eyes. It had been an amazing night before the whole cop fiasco. And now she got to meet Trent in two days! That is, if Rufus came through. She smiled to herself. At least Rufus was good for _something_.

* * *

"She actually called the cops on you? Priceless!" Scott said with a laugh. "Is your mom still psycho?"

"Yes, she is," Rufus said, answering for Lily.

Lily laughed, and gently shoved Rufus. "Stop!" She turned to Scott with a smile. "She's a piece of work at times, but she's gotten better."

"Well, I say we take a break from the story and get some of that chocolate cake. You all have had enough time to digest. It's my first cake from scratch, and it's not going to waste!" Rufus said getting up from the couch before anyone could protest.

"Yeah, instead it will go to _waist_," Lily joked, her hands over her waist.

"Please! You don't have an inch of fat on you," Chuck said to her.

Lily smiled. "Why thank you, Charles! Boy am I glad I adopted you!"

Chuck grinned.

"I _am_ kind of hungry now, now that you mentioned it," Serena said, getting up to help Rufus.

"I have to pee," Jenny said bluntly. She headed to the bathroom.

"Charming," Dan said sarcastically. "I'll be right back. I'm going to call Vanessa and wish her goodnight."

"On that note, I'll go get the plates and cups," Eric stated, getting up.

"I'll help you," Scott said, getting up and following him.

"I'm gonna call Blair. She told me to call her tonight. She said at any time, so I think I'll call her now, even though it's about four in the morning there," Chuck said.

Lily smirked. "You're evil."

He grinned. "Thank you! I take that as a compliment."

Lily shook her head, but smiled in amusement.

As Chuck walked off to call Blair on his cell phone, Lily headed over to Rufus and hugged him from behind. She kissed his neck. "I love you."

He looked back at her and smiled. "I love you too." He turned around and took her in his arms. They kissed. "I can't wait to get to the good parts." He raised his eyebrows up and down.

Lily shot him a warning look. "Toned down for the kids of course."

Rufus shrugged. "I don't know about that. They wanted the story, so they are going to get it—the good parts and all." He raised his eyebrows up and down.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're so bad."

"Mm, but I feel so good." Rufus pulled Lily closer to his body and kissed her.

Lily closed her eyes and sighed as she kissed him back. Indeed he did.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 2: One Little Problem**_

"All right, the cake is delicious. Now can you continue telling the story?" Serena asked. They were all back to their original seats, having brought their cake and milk with them.

"Do you _all_ like it?" Rufus asked, scanning all their faces.

They all nodded, and voiced their compliments.

Rufus grinned. "All right. We can return to the story."

"You start this time. I want to enjoy my cake," Lily said.

Rufus nodded, then glanced at the kids. "All right. I'll start with the day of the concert in Hartford, which is the one I had given your mother tickets to. I was excited at the prospect of seeing her again, but the way she had acted, I wasn't for sure she would show up."

* * *

"So, did you remember to give Kenny those girls' names so they can get backstage tonight?" John, the keyboardist for Lincoln Hawk asked Rufus as they sat in the kitchen area of the tour bus.

Rufus grinned a lopsided grin. "Are you kidding me? I gave Kenny the names the moment I left Lil and Jenny that night!"

John laughed. "You really have the hots for her, don't you?"

Rufus nodded. "She is a beautiful woman. I'd like to get to know her more. I just wish she didn't always act like I plan on attacking her."

John rolled his eyes. "All women are like that at first. They don't want to appear desperate. Give her time. She'll warm right up to you."

"I wish she liked me half as much as she likes Trent. She's crazy for that guy." Rufus took a sip of his beer, feeling a little sick at the thought of Lily liking someone like Trent. He was far too wild for a beautiful, sweet girl like Lily. He was nice to Lincoln Hawk and the fans, but when it came to women, Trent could be a real jerk. He liked to used them, then ditch them—at least the groupies anyway.

"Well, get used to it," Jerry the drummer said, coming into the kitchen area then. "_All_ the girls like Trent. He gets them all too."

"Well, I'm not going to let him get Lily! That is one groupie I am going to save from Trent." Rufus was determined.

"Why do you want her anyway? Didn't you say she was a snot to you?" Jerry asked, going into the cupboards to find some ingredients to make lunch with.

"She'll calm down once she gets to know me better," Rufus stated.

Andy, the base guitarist, came in and sat down at the table next to John. "Then you're going to take a page out of Trent's book and bed the groupie?" He smirked.

Rufus shook his head. "It's not like that with me! I only want to protect her."

John, Andy, and Jerry all looked at each other in amusement. "Uh huh!" they said, not sounding as if they believed it for even a second.

Rufus held up his hands. "I mean it! I don't sleep with anyone I'm not in love with. I've never been in love before, but I think she could be it! I think she could be my first love."

Jerry snickered. "You only talked to her once. How could it be love?"

Rufus shrugged. "Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?"

Before Jerry could answer, Andy spoke up. "Wait. If you never have sex with anyone you're not in love with, and you've never been in love until possibly now, then that means..." He trailed off.

"You're still a virgin!" John, Andy, and Jerry all said in unison. They burst out laughing, and high-fived each other.

"Who's still a virgin?" Bobby, the electric guitarist, asked, coming out of the bathroom, having just showered. He had nothing but a towel around his waist.

Andy smirked. "Rufus is! He's waiting until he's in love."

"And now he thinks that Lily chick could be his first love!" John piped in.

"Wasn't she a bitch to you when you talked to her?" Bobby asked in confusion.

Andy nodded. "That's what we're saying!" He motioned to himself, John, then Jerry.

"She wasn't a bitch!" Rufus defended. "She's just cautious. She's probably gotten hurt in the past before. Also, you know the reputations rock stars get. She's probably just weary of that."

Bobby smirked. "How could she have heard anything about your reputation? You don't have one!"

Andy laughed. "And, she doesn't seem to have a problem with Trent's reputation."

"Heck, she'll probably soon be added to Trent's reputation!" John chimed in.

Andy, John, and Bobby all laughed and high-fived.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Not if I can help it!"

"Guys, lay off him. I think it's nice he's waiting for love. It's a little girly, but it's nice. I'm sure Lily will appreciate that too. And we all can agree on what a pig Trent can be when it comes to women. Lily having been snotty or not, I think Rufus is doing a good thing here, trying to save her from him," Jerry said.

Rufus nodded. "Thank you!"

"What is she doesn't want to be saved?" John asked.

Rufus glared at him.

Jerry sensed the tension. "Bobby, go get dressed. I'm making us tacos for lunch, and you're not sitting next to me wearing only a towel."

John and Andy snickered.

Bobby rolled his eyes and saluted. "Yes, Sir!" He then turned and headed back into the bathroom.

Rufus took another sip of his beer. He loved his bandmates like brothers, but sometimes they could act like ass holes. Well, Bobby, John, and Andy could anyway. Jerry was older than the rest of them by three years, so he was a little more mature at least. Anyway, he didn't care what Andy and John said. He was pretty sure he was in love with Lily, and he was going to do whatever he could to protect her from Trent. She was one trophy Trent was not going to be able to brag about.

* * *

Jenny, Dan, and even Scott looked a little disturbed,

"Okay, I could have done without hearing about your virginity," Dan said.

Rufus grinned, and raised his eyebrows up and down. "Don't worry, I won't be for long."

Dan and Jenny both cried out.

"Ew, Dad! Ew! Come on!" Jenny complained.

"Okay, that's just wrong," Dan said.

Scott wrinkled his nose. "Gross. You're not going to tell us about... Are you?"

Rufus grinned. "It's the best part!"

Lily put her arm around her husband. "Come on, cut them a break!" She smirked nonetheless.

"Rufus continued to grin. You wanted to hear the story! Now I'm going to continue. And don't worry—that part doesn't come for a while."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Great! I can't wait," she was dripping with sarcasm.

Rufus raised his eyebrows up and down, _still_ grinning like the cheshire cat.

"You know, I think I should take over now until you cool down," Lily said, placing a hand over his thigh.

Rufus shrugged. "Go ahead! Just keep your hand there."

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, but did as told as she continued with the story. "They day of the concert arrived, and I had the perfect plan to get out of the house."

* * *

Lily mixed the sleeping pills into her mother's coffee. She had ground up two of them. Jenny had the pills from when he mother had had an insomnia problem. Her mother didn't need the pills anymore, but kept them on hand just in case. Jenny assured Lily that Jenny's mother wouldn't even notice the pills missing. If she did, Jenny knew her mother could get more as needed. Her mother was best friends with the pharmacist's wife.

Anyway, Lily had called the pharmacist and asked (hypothetically) if one pill didn't work for a patient, if it would be okay for said patient to take another one.

The pharmacist had said that one pill should definitely be sufficient, but if it wasn't, take a half pill more with the first one, and it would knock you out for at least twelve hours. He said not to take anymore than two, or it could be lethal.

Well, Lily needed her mother to be out for a long time, so she gave her two. So what if it was recommended that she give half a pill less than that? The pharmacist had also said not to take _more_ than two. She wasn't giving more than two.

She finished mixing the pills into the tea, then set it on a tray with a container of sugar. She also put a plate of her mothers favorite gingersnaps on the tray. Next, she went into her mother's bedroom, where her mother was sitting in bed, watching her soap opera.

Lily put on her best smile, and walked into her mother's room. "Hey, mom. I made you some tea and brought you some cookies."

Cece glanced at her. "I'm not lessening your grounding time."

Lily fought not to roll her eyes. "I know. I'm just trying to be nice. I feel bad about the whole police thing. You're right; I shouldn't have defied you. Or, I should have at least made sure you heard me tell you I was going anyway."

Cece smiled slightly. "Well, we all make mistakes. Give me those."

Lily grinned, and placed the tray over her mother's lap. She kissed her mother's cheek.

"Thank you," Cece said, kissing her daughter's cheek in return. She turned her attention back to her soap. "I hope you learned your lesson."

Lily nodded. "I did." _Not._

"Good!" Cece never took her eyes off the screen.

Lily watched anxiously as her mother took a sip of the tea. Lily wondered how long it would take for her mother to pass out. "I'll be in my room studying for a test I have Monday. It counts for half my grade."

Cece grunted. "You studying? I should ground you more often! That Bo Brady is so sexy. I'm so glad he's back. Forget Hope. I could give him something he'd never forget!"

Lily crinkled her nose. Like any of those hot soap stars would ever look twice at her mother. No offense. She watched as her mother took another long sip of her tea. She then smiled, and headed off to her room. She looked at her watch. She'd give it ten minutes, then she'd check on her mother. Lucky for her mother, _Days of Our Lives_ was due to be over in five minutes. She should be awake just long enough to see the end. Whether she remembered it or not when she woke up remained to be seen.

Ten minutes later, Lily checked on her mother. Sure enough, her mother was sleeping, her mouth wide open, the tray still on her lap, and the television still on.

"Mom?" Lily asked. When there was no answer, she went for the ultimate test and turned the television off. She looked at her mother. Nothing.

Lily smirked. Turning the television off usually always woke her mother up. Cece would sit up, and complain that she was watching that and Lily had turned it off on her. Now, there was only silence.

Lily crept over to her mother and took the tray off her lap. She set it on the floor, then moved her mother so that Cece was now lying on her back.

Next, Lily pulled the covers up over her mother's shoulders and listened for breathing just in case. She was glad to hear her mother was breathing just fine. After all, she'd hate to have to miss the concert.

Lily picked the tray back up, and headed to the kitchen. She set the tray on the kitchen counter, then went back to shut her mother's door. "Goodnight, Mother," she whispered as she walked away from the room.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Jenny's number. "Hey, Jenny. The pills worked! She's out cold. You on your way? Great! See you in ten."

Lily clicked her phone off, then, with a grin, went to her room to change. She needed something hot if she were going to impress Trent. After all, he had a lot of girls after him—not just her. She wasn't naive. Lucky for her (or Trent, depending on how you look at it), she had just the thing.

* * *

"I can't believe you slipped your mother sleeping pills!" Scott said with a smile.

Lily smiled too, and shrugged. "What can I say? I was a teenager desperate to see Trent Reznor."

Serena crinkled her nose. "I can't imagine why. He is so not hot!"

Lily chuckled. "Well, back then, a guy with that kind of look was."

"That was a good idea! I wish I had thought of that, what with the pills and all," Jenny said with a smirk.

Rufus shot her a look. "Lucky for you, you never did."

Jenny smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes at her father. "But what could you do to stop me if you were sleeping?"

"Ground you until I'm dead once I woke up," Rufus replied dryly.

Again, Jenny smirked, and didn't miss a beat. "No problem! I'd just give you five pills instead of two."

Rufus shook his head at her. "Cute," he said sarcastically.

"Come to think of it, I really could have used that trick as well," Serena stated.

"Remind me never to drink anything our kids make us," Lily said to Rufus, her hand on his thigh.

Rufus grinned. "I hear ya!"

"So, which one of you are going to continue?" Chuck asked. "I must say, you have me intrigued."

Lily and Rufus looked at each other.

"You want to go next?" Lily asked with a smile. She gently rubbed her husband's thigh.

He placed an arm around her and kissed her. "All right." He turned back to the kids. "I was pacing back and forth shortly before going on stage, wondering if she was going to come or not. Thankfully, John, Bobby, and Andy were too busy playing beer pong with the roadies to notice. I was so _not_ in the mood for any more hassling. I was far too nervous as it was.

* * *

"Relax, buddy! She'll be here!" Jerry pat Rufus on the shoulder and took a sip of beer. He handed Rufus his own."It will help take the edge off."

Rufus shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want her smelling alcohol on my breath."

Jerry smirked. "If she likes a band like Nine Inch Nails, I doubt she is against drinking."

Rufus set the beer down on the coffee table. "Even so, I want to smell nice for her."

Jerry smirked. "Well, in that case, you better go brush your teeth and put some deodorant on."

Rufus paled. "Really?"

Jerry snorted, and clapped him on the back. "Relax! I was just messing with you! You smell fine. In fact, you smell like Eternity. Did you borrow my cologne again without asking?"

Rufus blushed. "Sorry. I didn't have any of my Old Spice left, so I went for yours. You know the others can't be bothered to even wear cologne."

Jerry nodded. "I know _that's_ right! But, seriously dude, Old Spice? There's a reason it has 'old' in the title. It's for old men! You need to get with it!"

"Well, at least I'm wearing something decent _now_, right?" Rufus asked.

Jerry nodded. "Of course!"

A half hour later, it was time to go on stage.

Rufus walked on stage slowly, almost too scared to look in the front row for Lily. He didn't have to worry. He shortly after felt John nudging him.

He looked at John, and saw John nodding towards the front row.

Rufus glanced at where John was nodding, and felt his heart flip-flop when he saw his beautiful Lily in the front row. _She had come! _Her eyes met his, and he smiled at her.

She looked up at him from underneath her long eyelashes and smiled back at him.

His heart sped up even faster. _She smiled at me! She actually smiled back at me!_ he thought excitedly. Suddenly, all his anxiety and nervousness disappeared. "What's up, everybody! I am Rufus Humphrey, and this is my band, Lincoln Hawk! Are you ready to rock?"

The crowd went wild, which only brought his self-confidence up. He began his set then, seldom taking his eyes off Lily. He was more than happy that Lily watched him most of the time as well. She even took at least two pictures of him per song. Never once did she give him a nasty scowl, or anything else he might have expected from her due to her previous actions.

After the set, they introduced Nine Inch Nails, then he went backstage, nervous all over again. Would Lily come backstage after Nine Inch Nails' set? He decided to ask Kenny again if Lily and Jenny's names were on the list. Just in case.

Kenny smirked when Rufus asked him. "Yes, for the fifth time, Rufus. They are the first ones on the list!"

Rufus blushed. "Sorry. I'm just really eager to see her again."

"She must really be a beauty, this Lily person," Kenny commented.

Rufus nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe!"

Kenny clapped him on the back. "I wish you all the best, my pal."

Rufus grinned. "Thanks, Kenny."

Finally, just over an hour and a half later, Trent and the boys came in, high off their show.

"Bring on the groupies!" Chris said.

Trent elbowed him. "I'm the lead singer, so I get first dibs!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "You _always_ get first dibs!"

"Don't you forget it!" Trent said.

Rufus turned his back on them and rolled his eyes. They were nice guys, but they were still pigs when it came to women—at least Trent was anyway.

"I'm so glad I have a girlfriend. I don't have to settle for loser groupies," Richard, their guitarist said, sitting on the couch, and resting his feet on the coffee table.

His girlfriend giggled next to him, and he pulled her into a kiss that quickly turned into a make out session.

Nick, the new keyboardist since Chris had to take over the drums to replace Ron, the drummer, who had left the band earlier, came in with a groupie already on each arm.

Rufus waited nervously. Finally, in walked Jenny and Lily.

He fought back a moan as he saw more clearly what Lily wearing. She was wearing what looked like a black bra with red sequins all over it. He guessed it was what women called a bustier, made popular by Selena. She had paired it with her black leather jacket, and a pair of black leather pants that showed every one of her sexy curves. On her feet were black stilettos, displaying her perfectly pedicured feet, which matched her perfectly manicured nails, which were all painted a blood red.

He headed right over to her, not even caring how desperate it must make him look. He was just so happy to see her! Especially wearing _that_.

"Hey," he said when he got to her. "I _told_ you I'd get you backstage. Did you enjoy the show?"

She smiled at him. "I did, thank you. You did even better than you did the other night!"

Rufus felt his heart jump again. "Thank you, but I thought you didn't like my performance the other night." He smirked.

She shrugged, and gave him a slight smile. "Well, maybe I was a bit hasty." She placed her hand overtop of his shoulder. "You were amazing," she purred.

He fought back another moan. "Thank you. I like your outfit." He let his eyes wander to her chest for just a moment. Not too long though, because he didn't want to be like Trent.

She smirked. "So, where is Trent anyway?"

Rufus glanced around the room. "He's probably out by the tour bus smoking a cigarette and talking to any easy groupie he can get his hands on."

"And where are the tour busses?" Lily asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Rufus nodded towards an exit door a few feet away from them. "Right out there. He'll be in in a bit I'm sure. He wouldn't miss the opportunity to scout out the groupies backstage. He never does!"

Lily looked towards the door, and Rufus knew he had to do something to prevent her from making a mistake she wouldn't most definitely regret later. He put his hand over top of her shoulder, causing her to look at him.

"Hey," he said. "I just want to warn you about Trent. He can be nice, but when it comes to women, he is a real jerk. He only wants to get into their pants. Once he does, well, he ditches them like an old pizza box—and he doesn't even recycle! He uses you once, then he's done." Rufus tried to add a little humor to his warning. He wanted her to maybe laugh, and start thinking of him instead of Trent.

Lily smiled. "Really? Well, maybe it's a good thing he's not here then."

Rufus nodded; feeling relieved. _Well, that was easy! _he thought happily.

Lily placed a hand overtop of his shoulder. "Are _you_ like that?"

"Like what?" he asked.

Lily smiled, and lazily moved her foot against the floor. "Like Trent? Do you like to bed the groupies then leave them out to dry?"

He shook his head. "Never! I only give myself to someone I love."

She smiled. "Sweet. Look, do you guys have any soda or anything? I'm parched."

Rufus grinned. "Of course! Is Pepsi okay?"

She nodded. "Perfect!"

"I'll be right back." He smiled at her, then practically skipped off to get her a drink. His heart was pounding so hard, he was sure it was love. And she was actually being civil to him! Heck, if he didn't know any better, he'd think she was interested in him. He could only hope.

"Hey, Rufus! I saw you talking to Lily. How's it going?" Bobby asked him by the cooler.

Rufus grinned. "It's going great! She's like a totally different person tonight! She is actually being quite sweet to me. I think she might be changing her mind about me."

Bobby laughed, and high-fived him. "All right! Just be sure to use protection. We don't need you knocking up any groupies, you know what I'm sayin'?" Bobby clapped him on the back.

Rufus rolled his eyes. "No one is going to be knocking anyone up tonight. I want to get to know her better first."

Bobby shrugged. "Whatever, Buddy. Just don't wait too long. Someone by the name of Trent might get to her before you do." He gave his friend one last pat on the back, then took off.

"Over my dead body!" Rufus muttered to himself. He grabbed a Pepsi from the cooler, then turned to head back over to Lily. To his great surprise, she wasn't there. He scanned the crowd, and found Jenny, but no Lily.

He headed over to Jenny, and gently placed a hand over her shoulder. "Hey, Jenny, you having fun tonight?"

Jenny grinned at him. "Yes! Thank you _so_ much for the tickets and passes, Rufus! I have been talking to Chris all night! Well, since I got here anyway. He just went off to use the bathroom."

Rufus smiled at her. "You're very welcome. Look, have you seen Lily anywhere?"

Jenny smirked, and nodded towards the back exit that Rufus had earlier pointed out to Lily. "She went out there to try to find Trent. She has it in her head that she is going to lose her virginity to Trent tonight, but we'll see! Then again, she's hot and determined enough. I wouldn't underestimate her."

Rufus felt as if his heart had just jumped into his throat. "She did what? But Trent is a pig! He's just going to use her then throw her out!"

Jenny smirked. "I don't know. He could fall in love with her. Lily seems to think so."

Chris came back over then, and Jenny turned her attention back to Chris.

Rufus sighed. It was worse than he thought. Lily was a virgin? There was no fricking way Trent was getting his perverted paws anywhere _near_ Lily—especially not anywhere near her anatomy!

He quickly rushed out the door, ignoring some groupies that were calling to him to try to get his attention. No. Fricking. Way.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 3: Caught With Her Pants Down**_

The lights went out, leaving them all in blackness.

"Figures! Just when it was getting good!" Jenny said.

"I'm not so sure I want to hear about my mother having sex," Eric stated. "I'm still traumatized by that time I overheard you with Rufus, mother."

Lily was glad her son couldn't see her blush in the dark.

"Okay, let's just not go there," Dan stated.

Rufus grinned in the dark, and ran his hand up Lily's thigh, then up her skirt.

Lily took his wrist and stopped his hand. "Behave," she said softly. She kissed him.

He moaned, and kissed her back. "If you really want me to behave, this isn't helping." He pulled her closer until she was in his lap.

She closed her eyes and sighed as she gave into him, and kissed him some more, his face in her hands.

"What are you guys doing? Stop! Please!" Eric pleaded. He was just glad he at least was spared from the sight of it, if not the sound.

Just then, the generators kicked in, displaying Lily on Rufus' lap, and Rufus' hand trailing up her skirt as they kissed.

"Ew!" Jenny, Eric, Dan, Serena, and Scott all said in unison.

Chuck smirked. "Thank God I'm adopted."

Lily blushed, and quickly pulled away from him. "Sorry about that!" she said to the kids. "I kind of forgot about the generators there for a minute."

"Apparently!" Dan muttered.

Lily cleared her throat, and moved to sit beside Rufus instead of on his lap.

Rufus shrugged. "It's not like you guys don't know what we do behind closed doors."

"Yeah, let's just keep it behind closed doors please," Serena said.

"Why don't I continue?" Lily asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

Serena nodded. "Good idea."

Lily smirked. "Well, I had it in my head ever since I first saw Trent Reznor on TV that I was going to lose my virginity to him. Sure, I had plenty of opportunities to lose it beforehand. Not to sound vain, but I was an attractive girl, and there were a lot of handsome, sex-driven boys at my school. I dated my share of them, and did everything with them but have sex. As headstrong and tough as I was, I was still a teenage girl, and I wanted my first time to be special. I couldn't imagine it being any more special than with Trent."

* * *

Lily exited the backstage area as soon as Rufus had gone off to get her a soda. She smirked. It had been all too easy. Poor guy. He was handsome and sweet, but she wasn't looking for handsome and sweet. She was looking for hot and bad. She liked the bad boys. She always had.

She didn't have much time. She had to find Trent. She headed over to where the tour busses were. They were only a few yards away. She was within the barrier since the backstage door was inside the barrier, so all she had to do was walk up to Trent's bus, and... _Oh my gosh, there he is!_

Trent was smoking a cigarette with a trampy looking groupie who was smoking and flirting with him. Rufus had called it correctly.

Lily smirked. She could take on that trashy brunette. Everyone knew blondes had more fun, and Lily knew that she herself was the best example of that.

She walked right over to Trent and gave him the most flirtatious smile she could muster up. "Hey there." She fluttered her eyelashes. "I'm Lily Rhodes, and I think you are the sexiest guy in the world."

Trent looked her up and down. He chuckled. "Join the club, Darling." He blew smoke in her face.

The groupie next to him snickered, and took a puff of her cigarette as well.

Lily smirked. "Maybe so, but none of the girls in the 'club' are as hot as I am, nor can they give you as good of a time as I can." She then took Trent's cigarette from his hand and smoked it once before handing it back to him and blowing the smoke right back in his face.

Trent raised an eyebrow. "Maybe, but in case you missed her, I already have a hottie."

The trampy groupie smirked. "Yeah, little girl. He needs a _woman_; not a little girl."

Lily smirked. She knew how to get Trent with three little words. She was sure no man would turn down any girl that said those three words. "_I'm_ a virgin." She smirked when Trent instantly looked intrigued. Of course he did. Lily looked up and down Trampy groupie's body with an unimpressed look. "That is something, I can almost guarantee you're not."

Trent looked at Trampy groupie. "Well, are you?"

Trampy groupie looked a little crestfallen. "Well, no, but—"

Trent didn't let her finish. He placed a finger to her lips. "Sorry, but I have a beautiful groupie that needs attending to. Why don't you go try for one of the Lincoln Hawk guys? Go see Bobby. He's pretty easy."

For a split second, Trampy groupie looked like she was about to cry. But she quickly changed her tune by clenching her first, shooting Lily a dirty look, and then letting out a frustrated scream as she stormed off.

Lily stood there, grinning at Trent; feeling victorious.

Trent smiled at her. "Congratulations! You won me for the night. Or at least for ten minutes." He stroked some hair out of her face and kissed her deeply.

Lily sighed with contentment and closed her eyes as Trent deepened the kiss. She grabbed his face and kissed him back with just as much as passion as he was kissing her. _This is it! The night I've been waiting for. I'm finally going to lose my virginity to Trent Reznor!_ she thought with excitement. She knew this day would come! She just knew it!

Trent broke the kiss, and nodded towards the bus." "Come on. Let's go to the back. I have a king bed in there."

Lily grinned. "Perfect!"

They walked onto the bus.

"Do you want a beer or something?" Trent asked her.

Lily shook her head. "I only want you."

Trent grabbed her. "Sounds good to me." He grinned at her, then kissed her hard before taking her hand and practically dragging her to the bedroom in the back of the bus.

Lily giggled, and ran after him; so eager to finally lose it to the man of her dreams.

* * *

"It sure is taking Rufus long enough to get to you. All that happened while he was just getting you a Pepsi and having a quick conversation with Bobby?" Chuck asked Lily.

"It didn't end there," Rufus answered for Lily. "A group of fans cornered me outside, and kept talking to me and asking for pictures. To tell you the truth, they were kind of big, and there were three of them as opposed to one of me. I didn't have a choice. They were quite aggressive." I don't know where the heck security was—probably inside partying with the others."

Lily smirked. "Yes, Rufus got a little more delayed, and Trent was a fast worker."

"I don't think I like where this is going," Serena said.

"Trent sounds like a real cad! How could you fall for him?" Chuck asked.

"Blair fell for _you_, didn't she?" Jenny asked.

Scott burst out laughing.

Jenny grinned, and high-fived her half brother.

Chuck glanced at her. "Very funny," he said; unamused.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this part of the story," Dan said.

Eric looked slightly ill. "I _know_ I'm not comfortable with this part of the story."

Lily hit the air in front of her. "Oh, stop! It won't go like you think it will," she said, slightly amused.

"Sh! Don't give it away before you tell it!" Rufus chastised.

Scott shrugged. "Aw, what the heck? Tell it! It's not so gross since I didn't grow up knowing you guys as my parents."

Rufus grinned. "See? The boy wants to hear it! Tell our son what happens next."

Lily glanced at Rufus and shook her head and rolled her eyes, all the while laughing. He was adorable when he acted all childlike. "Oh, all right!"

Rufus clapped his hands. "Yay!" He was just being a dork now. On purpose of course.

Lily playfully shoved him. "Stop it!" she said, laughing.

Rufus grinned, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "All right, keep going." He gave her one more kiss, then he sat back and waited patiently for her to continue.

Lily smiled. "Well, like I said, Trent was a fast worker. He had me undressed in under a minute, and I had the pleasure of watching him undress next."

* * *

Lily smiled when she saw Trent's naked body before her. He was even sexier naked than she had imagined he'd be. She wanted to touch him. But, he had left her stilettos on, and she was eager to get them off.

"No," Trent grabbed her wrist to stop her when he saw what she was trying to do. "I left them on for a reason. Keep them on. They're hot."

Lily smirked. All right, so it was a little kinky. Who cared? She was here, about to lose her virginity to Trent Reznor. Heck, if he wanted her to wear his underwear on her head while they made love she would!

Before Lily could think any more on it, Trent pushed her down onto her back on the bed.

Lily cried out in surprise.

"Put your legs on my shoulders," he ordered.

Lily did as told. She was starting to feel a little nervous. This was the moment of truth; the moment that would make all her dreams come true, and bring her into womanhood. Was she ready for it? Though she was nervous, she knew that yes, she was _so_ ready for it!

"Here it comes," Trent said, wriggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

Lily clung to him and closed her eyes, bracing herself. Jenny had said it hurt when she lost her virginity. She was going to save it for Chris, but had a moment of weakness when she had gone out with Damien, the football team's quarterback. Then again, Emily, her lab partner, had said it didn't hurt it all when she had lost it to her boyfriend Drake. So, Lily had no idea what to expect. But, just in case it did hurt, she was bracing.

Suddenly, Lily heard a crashing sound. "Get your hands off of her!" It sounded like Rufus' voice.

"What the hell?" That was definitely Trent's voice.

Lily opened her eyes and saw Rufus standing in the doorway looking flustered.

Trent got off of Lily before he had even started to make love to her. He got up off the bed. "What the hell are you doing in here, man?"

Lily quickly pulled the covers up over her body; not wanting Rufus to see her naked.

Trent showed no shame, and just let it all out for Rufus to see.

Rufus shielded his eyes, and turned his back towards Trent. "I'm sorry, Trent. I appreciate you letting my band and me go on tour with you, but I can't let you take her virginity. She means a lot to me, and I just can't let you use her and ditch her like you do with the rest of your groupies."

Trent shrugged. "It's cool. I'm sorry. She just came on to me. I didn't realize she meant that much to you. She's all yours. Andy told me you are a virgin, and waiting for the right girl to lose it to. A rarity like you should be able to have the girl he wants."

Rufus turned around; suddenly not caring about Trent's nakedness. "Wait, Andy told you about that?"

Trent grinned and shrugged, then began putting his clothing back on. "Relax! We were having a couple of beers together. He was a little drunk and told me he had a secret about you. It took another beer, but I finally got it out of him. Don't worry though—I think it's great, man, that you have that self-control. Lord knows _I'll_ never have that!" He finished dressing, and clapped Rufus on the shoulder. "She's all yours!"

Lily was furious. "Excuse me, but I'm still in the room. _I'm_ the only one who has a say of who is going to 'get' me!" _How dare Rufus come in and ruin her one chance she had to be with Trent?_

She looked at Trent. "Trent, I want you; not him!" She glared at Rufus.

Trent shrugged. "Sorry, Lacy, but he apparently saw you first. It's the code of the man! Whoever sees the chick first, gets her. Well, not usually. Usually I get the girl no matter what. But, Rufus is a good man, and you're not going to find another virgin guy so easily. You two are perfect for each other."

"But I want someone with experience!" Lily tried.

"Have fun!" Trent said, already out the door. He held a hand up in a wave without even looking back.

Rufus watched as Trent headed off the bus.

Lily cried out in frustration! "You ass hole! You ruined my chances! How dare you?" She took a pillow and tossed it hard at Rufus.

Rufus caught it, and laughed at the surprising power of it. "Hey, you got a great arm on you, Lil!"

Lily took a deep breath and slowly let it out before responding. "Don't. Call. Me. **Lil**!" She was so livid she wanted to kill him no matter _how_ good looking he was.

Rufus grinned, and tossed the pillow back to her, but not with as much force. "I'll let you dress. I'll be waiting in the kitchen."

Lily cried out in anger, and threw the pillow again.

Rufus laughed, and ducked out of the room, shutting the door to block the pillow from hitting him.

Lily dressed, muttering nasty things about Rufus the whole time. When she finished dressing, she headed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She was going to walk right past him, but he grabbed her, causing her to fall into his lap. He was sitting at the kitchen table.

She glared at him. "Let go of me."

He shook his head. "Not until you hear me out."

She tried to struggle, but he was too strong for her. She sighed, then pouted, and crossed her arms over her chest. "You have two minutes!"

He grinned. "Thank you! That's all I need."

"A minute and five seconds and counting!" she snapped.

Rufus sighed. "All right. I'm not going to say I'm sorry for interrupting you guys, because I'm not!"

Lily glared at him. "I figured as much," she said dryly.

Rufus ignored her. "I know you thought it would be cool to lose it to Trent, but trust me, Lily, it wouldn't have turned into love like you thought it would."

Lily scowled at him. "You don't know that."

Rufus nodded. "Uh, yes, I do. I'm the one who goes on tour with the guy. I've seen now he is. He takes what he wants from a woman, and then he leaves her for the next best thing. I've seen girls leaving his dressing room in tears."

Lily paused for a moment. "Well, that wouldn't happen to me. I'm not like other girls."

Rufus grinned. "Clearly, you're not. But, that being said, you're not his type—trust me. He's not the settling down type. I mean, come on, Lil. He called you Lacy! He couldn't even get your name right!"

Lily stiffened. "Yeah, well, I sometimes don't speak clearly enough. It was an honest mistake."

Rufus grunted. "The only mistake would have been you losing your virginity to him!"

Lily scowled. "Yeah, well, it was my mistake to make! Not that I think it would have been a mistake. It wasn't your job to come in and save me when I didn't even ask to be saved! Why do you care so much anyway? I totally hosed you back there, you know. I was only being friendly so I could get it out of you were Trent was."

Rufus nodded. "I pretty much figured that put when Jenny told me where you went."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I should have known she'd tell. That girl can't keep a secret to save her life!"

"Well, in all fairness, I did ask her," Rufus stated.

Lily looked away. "It didn't mean she had to tell you."

Rufus sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I'm not sorry I interrupted you, but I am sorry that Trent didn't turn out to be who you thought he was."

Lily shot him a look. "Well, now, no thanks to you, Rufus, I will never know if he turned out the way I wanted him to or not, will I?"

Rufus loosed his grip on her. "Trust me—you'll be glad one day."

"Yeah, well, don't count on it!" Lily got up off his lap; eager to just get out of there.

"So, are you going to come to any more shows?" Rufus asked with a hopeful grin.

Lily laughed. "Are you kidding me? After you humiliated me in front of Trent and ruined my chances with him? What do _you_ think?"

Rufus grinned. He loved getting her riled up. She was so sexy when she was angry. "I think you could come by just to see Lincoln Hawk. I could be so much better for you than Trent. And, I promise to sing just to you every night."

Lily clenched her fists. "I wouldn't date you if you were the last man on earth! You infuriate me!"

Rufus licked his lips. "Well, if you ever change your mind, or need me for anything at all, here's my cellphone number." He took a napkin that was on the able and grabbed a pen that just happened to be on the table as well. He wrote down his name and number on the napkin, then folded it up and handed it to Lily. "Call me anytime—even if you just need tickets!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't hold your breath! See you around, or if I'm lucky, I won't!" She then turned on her stilettos and walked off the tour bus, tossing her hair being her. She didn't even look back.

She stomped across the lawn towards the garbage can. She took the napkin and was about ready to throw it in the garbage, but then she sighed, and changed her mind. She quickly stuffed it in her jacket pocket. She might as well keep it as a souvenir so that she would have something to look back on years later with Jenny. They could laugh at the memory of that loser Rufus guy who actually thought he'd have a chance with Lily. Then again, Lily didn't think the memory of him ruining her one and only chance to lose her virginity to Trent would ever make her laugh.

She scowled to herself, then stormed off to find Jenny. She just wanted to get the hell out of there, and forget this whole miserable night ever happened.

* * *

"Aw! You totally wanted him, Lily! If you didn't, you would have ditched the number when you had the chance," Jenny said with a smile.

Lily nodded. "But, back then, I'd rather have died than admit it."

"Why did you hate on him so much?" Dan asked. "I mean, I know he can be annoying, but he's not _that_ bad."

Rufus scrunched his eyebrows together. "I don't know whether to smack the back your head or thank you for that."

Jenny smirked. "I'd go for a smack on the back of the head."

Eric reached behind Scott and smacked Jenny on the back of the head.

Jenny gasped. "Ow, you moron! What was _that_ for?"

Eric grinned. "Well, you said you'd go for a smack on the back of the head."

Jenny shot him a dirty look. "I met for Dan, and you know it!"

Eric smirked. "Prove it!"

Jenny started to get up.

Eric squealed, and ran across the family room into the kitchen.

Jenny ran after them, and they were stuck on each side of the bar; Eric trying to escape Jenny, and Jenny, trying to get Eric.

Scott laughed.

Dan rolled his eyes. "So immature," he said, trying his best to sound mature.

Serena rolled her eyes, and gently pushed him.

"Can we please cut the child's play and get back to the story?" Chuck asked, his monotone not at all amused by Eric and Jenny's antics.

"Yeah, guys, come on! I want to hear the rest of the story," Scott called out to his half siblings.

Eric held up his hands to Jenny. "Truce?"

Jenny stared at him for a moment. Finally, she sighed and gave in. "All right, truce. For now."

Eric gave her a weary look, then slowly moved from his spot behind the counter, and sat down next to Scott again.

Jenny also reclaimed her spot on the other side of Scott.

"So, let's hear from _you_ now, Rufus. What was your reaction to all this?" Chuck asked.

Rufus and Lily looked at each other and smiled.

Lily nodded at her husband. "Go ahead, tell them," she pushed.

Rufus nodded, and gently rubbed her thigh. He looked back at the kids. "All right. I was a little hurt, but I wasn't going to be put off so easily. After all, anyone that was on the list to get backstage had to show their ID to Kenny on the way in to prove that they were who they said they were. I had told Kenny previously to make sure he remembered where she was from. He promised to write it all down for me. Luckily, he had a good memory. I had decided I'd give Lily time to call me. If she didn't then, I'd take matters into my own hands."

* * *

Rufus sighed as he continued to sit at the kitchen table of Trent's tour bus. He looked out the window and watched as Lily stormed off looking mad as hell. He smirked. She was so headstrong, but it made her all the more attractive to him.

He watched her stomp over to the trashcan, the napkin dangling in her hand.

He held his breath for a moment; worried that she was going to toss it in the trash, but then he let the breath out when he saw Lily change her mind and pocket the napkin.

He smiled to himself. "She wants me. I know she does. It's only a matter of time before you come crawling back to me, Lil. Only a matter of time," he said to himself. He then got up, and left the tour bus. He didn't want to still be on there if Trent decided to bring another groupie on there. He was so glad he had stopped Trent from taking Lily's virginity. His heart had been in his throat when he walked in and saw Lily's legs over Trent's shoulders. Thank _God_ he had gotten there in time. If those fans had delayed him for just a second more... He shivered at the thought. Well, at least he had made sure that that situation would never happen again. Thankfully, Trent was decent enough to not take Lily from him.

He smirked to himself as he headed back to his own tour bus. At least being a virgin counted for _something_.

* * *

"That was all for the night. I took a shower, had a beer with Jerry, then went to bed. I think you should take over now, Lil. Nothing interesting happened with me after you left. Not even a hot dream of you. Damn!" Rufus said, snapping his fingers.

Lily smiled. "All right. Well, I found Jenny coming off of Chris' tour bus, giggling with him and holding his hand."

* * *

"Hey, Lil, what's up?" Jenny asked. "Are you officially a woman now?"

Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "_No_. No thanks to Rufus!"

Jenny sighed. "Oh no, what happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it now." Lily looked away.

"Chris smirked. "I can take a hint when I'm given one." He kissed Jenny's cheek. "I have your number. I'll be calling you."

Jenny giggled and grinned. "All right. I'll be looking forward to it." She kissed him again, and wrapped her arms around him.

Jenny and Chris both grinned at Lily.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Lily," Chris said to her. He and Lily had talked for a minute backstage prior to Lily going over to Rufus.

Lily gave him a polite smile, even though the last thing she felt like doing right then was smiling. "It was nice meeting you too, Chris."

Chris gave Jenny one last kiss, then left, patting her butt along the way.

Jenny giggled, and waved after him, watching him until he disappeared back into the backstage area of the arena.

"So, you want to tell me what happened now?" Jenny asked.

"Not here. In the car," Lily said.

Jenny nodded. "All right." So, they stepped over the barrier, and headed for Jenny's car.

"What happened with you and Chris? You both looked very happy coming off that tour bus." Lily put on a smirk, despite her foul mood.

Jenny grinned. "We had sex! We just clicked backstage! He asked me if I wanted to see his tour bus. I said yes, and, well, one thing led to another and... It didn't last long, but he was really good, so I didn't care!" Jenny grinned. "He said his cell phone fell in the toilet, so he has to get a new one, but he is going to call me when he gets one."

Lily thought that sounded a little suspicious, but she didn't want to get Jenny down or worried. There was no use in _both_ of them having their night ruined. Besides, not all men were scum. Maybe he was telling her the truth. He seemed like a nice enough guy from what Lily had seen of him. "I'm really happy for you, Jenny. Hopefully you two can start dating. Then at least _one_ of us gets her dream guy."

Jenny glanced at Lily. "Oh no. Tell me what happened." She put the car in drive, and took off as Lily started explaining.

Lily told Jenny everything, starting from the moment she had left Jenny to talk with Chris in peace, and ending with the conversation she had with Rufus on the bus. She decided to leave out the part about Rufus giving her his number. Right now, such a minor detail didn't seem important. Besides, she was now starting to feel stupid for saving the number. She would throw it out when she got home.

Jenny listened patiently, and only spoke when Lily finished. "So, Rufus stopped you and Trent from having sex?"

Lily nodded, her arms crossed over her chest again. "Mm hm!"

Jenny hid her smirk behind her hand. "And he's a virgin waiting for love, so Trent let him have you because he thinks you and Rufus are better suited for each other since you're both virgins?"

Lily nodded. "That's right! Horrible, isn't it?"

Jenny smirked. "I don't know. I actually find it kind of hilarious!"

Lily glared at her now laughing friend. "Shut up!" It was _so_ not funny. No thanks to Rufus, my chances of losing my virginity to Trent, or having any kind of relationship at all with Trent are out the window! And to think, I was this close!" She held her thumb and index finger a centimeter apart.

Jenny stopped laughing. "You're right. I'm sorry. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be with you and Trent."

Lily went back to crossing her arms. "Apparently!"

Jenny quickly glanced at Lily before putting her eyes back on the road. "Are you sure you don't want Rufus? He is an attractive guy, and it's hard to find a man that isn't a pervert. He must not be _that_ bad if he's waiting to have sex until he is in love. I mean, what guy still does that? Plus, he saved you!"

Lily rolled her eyes, and looked out the window. "I didn't need saving, nor did I ask to be saved. Trust me, I'm sure." She then looked at Jenny. "So, since you've had sex, are you saying that _you're _a pervert?" She grinned to show she was only joking.

Jenny grinned, and raised her eyebrows up and down suggestively. "You know it, baby!"

They both laughed, then spent the rest of the trip talking about Chris, school, and anything else non-Rufus related.

When Lily got home, she quietly opened her mother's bedroom door, and peered in. Her mother was still sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling in a normal rhythm. Lily smiled, and quietly shut the door. Thank God for strong sleeping pills. Her mother probably wouldn't remember anything about that day since _Days of our Lives_. Perfect!

Lily went tot he bathroom, then washed her hands and headed to the kitchen and had some cookies and milk.

Next, she headed to her room. She took off her jacket and tossed it over her desk chair, then tossed everything else in the hamper and grabbed some clean clothes. She then headed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. After, she pulled on a clean pair of underwear and a clean bra as well. On top of them, she put on an oversized T-shirt that had her high school's football team's logo on it. Finally, she brushed her teeth, then headed to her bedroom.

She flicked off the lights, climbed into bed, and closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her. Rufus' number was completely forgotten, and still setting in her jacket pocket.

* * *

"So, what happens next? When did you see my dad again?" Jenny asked.

Lily smiled. "It wasn't right way."

"Hold it!" Rufus held up his hand. "I need a potty break. Don't continue without me!"

Lily nodded. "I need a drink of water anyway. I'm parched from telling the story. Anyone else want one?"

"I'm good, thanks" everyone else muttered.

Lily got up and headed for the kitchen. She looked up when she heard a loud, _thunk_! Followed by "Ow, you witch! I thought you said we had a truce!"

Lily smirked, but shook her head in disapproval when she saw Eric rubbing his scalp, and shooting Jenny the evil eye.

Jenny grinned. "I said, _for now_. That was then. This is now; truce was over, but now we're even."

"Hardly!" Eric muttered.

"What was that?" Jenny asked.

Eric smiled sweetly at her. "Nothing, sweet stepsister of mine!"

Jenny smiled. "That's what I thought!"

Lily grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. She shook her head and smiled. Well, at least she and Rufus got four—five if you counted Chuck—good things out the time they weren't together. Their kids were the only good things about it.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 4: For Her Own Good**_

"All right, who's going next?" Serena asked once they were all back to their original spots in the family room.

"I'll tell the next part, then, Honey, you can tell the next," Lily said, looking at Rufus. She put and arm around him and rubbed his chest.

He kissed her. "Sounds good to me."

She smiled bigger and kissed him back, then turned to the kids. Scott was smiling at them; apparently happy to see his birth parents so happy together. Dan was looking away, as was Serena. Both looked a little ill. Eric was looking down at his hands and twiddling his thumbs. Jenny was smiling halfheartedly, looking slightly ill, and Chuck was smirking at them, as if pleased with something.

Lily began. "The next morning, I woke up refreshed, but ticked off. I had had the weirdest dream..."

* * *

_"Lily, I love you. Please, will you do me the greatest pleasure of becoming my wife?"_

_ Lily grinned so wide her cheeks were starting to hurt. She looked deep into Trent's eyes as he held out the biggest square-cut diamond she had ever seen before in her life. She had tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she stroked his cheek. "Trent, yes! It would be an honor to become your wife!"_

_ Trent grinned at her. "Give me your hand!"_

_ Lily held out her hand, and Trent was just about to slip the ring on it, when Rufus came crashing into the room._

_ "Stop! Don't you dare put that ring on her finger! She is mine! I already claimed her!" Rufus said, stomping angrily over to Trent._

_ Trent shrugged. "All right. I didn't really want her anyway." He tossed the ring at Rufus and shrugged. "_You_ marry her."_

_ Rufus smiled widely. "Thank you! I don't mind if I do."_

_ Lily started to panic as she saw Trent walking away. "Trent, wait!"_

_ Trent didn't seem to hear her, for he kept on walking until he disappeared. It was as if he had just evaporated._

_ She went to run off the bus (they were on Trent's tour bus), but Rufus grabbed her arm. He smiled at her. "Hey, baby, when should we get married?" he asked._

_ Lily glared at him. She was so angry, she couldn't speak. So, instead, she clenched her right fist and punched him hard in the face._

Lily woke up with a smile on her face. Well, the first half may have been a nightmare, but at least the second half was pretty good. She wished she really _had_ punched Rufus. That would have taught him!

Her cell phone rang, and she answered it once she was able to find it. It was in the pants pocket of her leather pants, which were in the hamper. _Oops!_

"Hello?" she asked, after finally finding the phone.

"Sheesh! It took you long enough to answer," Jenny stated.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I forgot I left my phone in my pants' pocket."

"It's a good thing I called then. I saved your phone from the spin cycle." Jenny sounded amused.

Lily smirked. "So, what's up?"

"Do you mind if I come over? I need help with my algebra, and your the best at it. Do you think your mom will allow it since it has to do with school? I know you're still grounded, but..."

Lily rolled her eyes. "She's fine with anything that has to do with school. Besides, I never let her tell me no. You should know that by now."

"True," Jenny stated."So, does she suspect anything about last night?"

Lily shook her head. "Nope! She was still out cold when I got home. And before you ask, yes, I checked her breathing. She was fine."

"She's gotta be mad hungry when she wakes up! Not to mention she'll probably have to go to the bathroom badly. Maybe she peed the bed," Jenny joked.

They both laughed.

"You're sick!" Lily stated.

"Me? I'm not the one who drugged her mother just so she could go to a concert," Jenny teased.

Lily smirked. "Touché!"

Jenny laughed again. "I'll be over in a half hour."

Lily smiled. "Okay."

They said their goodbyes, then hung up.

Lily sighed, then headed out into the kitchen. She found her mother making breakfast.

"Good morning, mother! Did you sleep well?" Lily asked.

Cece nodded. "Did we have dinner together last night? It's funny. I remember watching _Days_, and you bringing me in some cookies and tea, but then I don't remember much after that."

Lily tried not to laugh. She turned away so that her mother wouldn't see the big grin on her face. "You were sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful. I ended up falling asleep too for a while, then my stomach was off around dinnertime. When I saw you were still sleeping, I just said forget it. I went to bed early."

Cece looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hm. Weird. Well, we both got enough sleep to keep us alert today, right?"

Lily nodded, and turned back around to smile at her mother. "You bet!"

Cece nodded. "Go get ready. Breakfast is almost ready."

Lily walked over to her mother and kissed her cheek. "Okay, Mom."

Cece smiled.

Lily then headed to her room. She closed the door behind her, leaned against the door, then let the laughter finally break loose.

* * *

Jenny laughed. "Oh my gosh, so you completely got away with it?"

Lily smiled and nodded. "To this day, she still doesn't know what _really_ happened that night."

"Lucky for you!" Rufus said.

Lily nodded. "Tell me about it! She's probably _still_ try to ground me."

The kids and Rufus all laughed.

"All right, I wasn't done telling my part of the story yet, so I'm going to continue," Lily said.

Rufus nodded, and Lily continued the story.

* * *

"So, where is the warden?" Jenny joked as she came into the house.

Lily smirked. "She's out to lunch with an old friend. And when I say old, I do mean old. She's like forty or something."

Jenny smirked. "Isn't your mother forty?"

Lily nodded. "I rest my case."

Jenny rolled her eyes and giggled. "Do you got anything to eat? I'm starved!"

So, Lily and Jenny raided the cupboards and the fridge. After they had chosen two bags of chips, some dip, and a couple of Pepsis, they headed into Lily's room.

Lily closed the door behind them.

Jenny tossed her backpack on the floor, and dived onto the bed with her soda and a bag of Doritos. "Algebra II can wait."

Lily nodded, and got onto the bed with Jenny, bringing the rest of the snacks with her.

Jenny clicked open her Pepsi can and took a long swig. She let out a sigh of contentment. "So, your mother didn't suspect anything? Really?"

Lily snickered. "She said she didn't remember anything after her soap, and I told her she must have been tired, because she slept passed dinner. I told her I fell asleep myself. All she said was that she and I would both be awake today since we slept so long last night."

Jenny giggled. "Your mom's so gullible."

"Thank God for that!" Lily said, opening the bag of Doritos and taking a bite of one. "So, did Chris ever call you?" She asked after a moment of silence. Well, silence other than their crunching and sipping.

Jenny shook her head. "No. I hope he didn't lose my number!"

Lily looked away. Jenny could be smart when she needed to be, but sometimes she liked to go by the "ignorance is bliss" way of things. She should know a rock star wouldn't go long without a cell phone. Didn't they have people to give them a new phone the second they lost, ruined, or got rid of their old one?

Jenny sighed. "So, what about Rufus?"

Lily looked at her suspiciously. "What about him?" She took another Dorito out of the bag and took a bite, making a loud _crunch_ sound.

"He didn't ask you for your number or anything?" Jenny asked.

Lily paused for a moment. "No."

"That's really surprising. He was really into you." Jenny said. She took another sip of her Pepsi and eyed Lily suspiciously.

"A little _too_ into me, if you as me," Lily said bitterly.

Jenny smiled. "Well, I think it's kind of cute. I wish Chris was that eager. You know, I'm starting to think all he wanted was sex. I guess it's all right. Now that I've had sex with him, I'm kind of not as into him as I was. It's like wanting a slice of chocolate cake so badly, but never being aloud to have it. Then, once you have it, you've had your fill, and that's that. It's not to say I wouldn't want to be with Chris if he ever called me, but I'm okay if he doesn't. I'm going to the prom with Billy anyway."

Lily was impressed. Apparently, Jenny wasn't as ignorant as she had originally thought. "Billy's great. I'm sure you'll have a good time with him."

Jenny nodded. "I'm sure I will. He's hot as hell anyway. So, if nothing else, I should get some good sex out of it." She wriggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"You're such a whore!" Lily teased, in a way that only best friends were allowed to tease.

Jenny shrugged. "Hey, don't knock it till you try it." She opened the sour cream and onion chips and bit into one.

Lily cringed. "It's not _my_ fault Rufus ruined my chance to try it."

Jenny got a mischievous look on her face. "Well, maybe he can make it up to you by letting you try it with him! We both know he wouldn't be opposed to it!"

Lily nearly choked on her soda. "In his dreams!"

Jenny smirked. "So, did anyone ask you to the prom?"

Lily nodded. "Of course! But I turned them all down."

Jenny smirked. "Why on earth did you do that?"

Lily blushed, suddenly feeling like an immature teenybopper. "I was convinced that Trent and I would be in love by then, and that he would either be going to the prom with me, or we'd be off somewhere else doing our own thing." _She_ was the ignorant one—not Jenny—she realized.

Jenny hid her snickering being her hand.

Lily sighed. "I know, it was stupid of me, okay? Now anyone I was even remotely interested in is going with someone else."

"So, you're not going at all?" Jenny asked in surprise.

Lily sighed. "I kind of _have_ to. I have to be there to take pictures for the yearbook. I could pawn the job off on someone else, but everyone is counting on me. We all know I'm the best photographer the school has."

Jenny smirked. "Way to toot your own horn."

Lily shrugged. "I'm just stating facts," she said nonchalantly.

"Well, I'm sure you won't be the only single one there," Jenny said, trying to make her feel better.

Lily snorted. "Yeah, I can hang with all the other dateless losers."

"You're not a dateless loser," Jenny said.

Lily sighed. "But I'm dateless, which therefore makes me a loser." She pushed the chips away, no longer hungry. She took a swig of her Pepsi, then set it on her nightstand next to her lamp. "I have to use the bathroom. When I get back, I'll help you with your algebra."

Jenny nodded, and went in for one last handful of chips.

When Lily got back, she saw Jenny had her leather jacket on.

Jenny smiled at her. "Do you mind if I borrow this? I have an outfit I want to wear to school tomorrow that would go perfect with this."

Lily nodded. "Sure."

Jenny went to the full-length mirror and turned around in front of it to see herself in the jacket from every angle. She put her hands in the pockets. "I'm going for a biker chick look. Billy said he wants to get a motorcycle. I want to inspire him with my outfit."

Lily smirked. "Go for it!" She was happy her friend was able to get over Chris so quickly. She only wished she could get over Trent as fast.

Jenny took her hands out of the pockets, the napkin with Rufus' number in one hand. She smiled. "What's this?"

Lily looked away; embarrassed. _Damn!_ She had forgotten all about that! "Rufus' number. He gave it to me."

Jenny laughed. "And I thought you said he didn't give you his number!"

Lily sighed. "I was going to throw it out, but then I thought I'd keep it as a souvenir for you and I to mock him later. Now, I wish I had thrown it out. In fact..." Lily walked over to Jenny and took the napkin from her hand. She crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash bin. "There! That's what I should have done in the first place, only back at the arena!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Jenny asked. He seemed really nice!" Lily glared at her in such a way, it made her shut right up. She held her hands up in defense. "I'll take that as a no."

Lily nodded. "Good call." She nodded towards Jenny's backpack. "Grab your stuff. My mom could be home at any moment, and you know how she disapproves of studying in the bedroom when we have 'a perfectly good table in the kitchen.'" She rolled her eyes at the memory of her mother telling her just that,

Jenny rolled her eyes as well. "I don't know how you live with that woman." She headed over to her backpack, and put it halfway on, hoisting it over her right shoulder.

Lily shook her head. "Believe me, I'm still wondering that myself." She turned and headed out of the room.

Jenny went to head after her, then, once Lily was out of the room completely, she sneaked back and grabbed Rufus' number out of the trash can. She stuffed it in her pocket, then ran to catch up with Lily.

* * *

"What was she doing with your number?" Dan asked his father.

"Don't tell me _she_ was going to ask you out! She is always saying how cute you are," Jenny said.

"She wouldn't do that to her best friend," Scott stated.

"But it wouldn't be doing anything to her best friend if she thinks her best friend doesn't want him," Eric corrected.

"Is she going to call him and pretend to be you, mom?" Serena asked.

"Why would he do that?" Eric asked his sister before Lily could answer.

Serena shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe to set up a date? Maybe she can see right through mom, and knows she really likes him."

"I think I know what happens, but I could be wrong," Chuck said to Rufus and Lily. "Please continue. I want to find out if I'm right or not."

Lily grinned, and looked over at her husband. "I think I'm going to let you take over from here since I wasn't there when it happened."

Rufus nodded, and took her hand in his. He kissed it. "It would be my pleasure." He smiled at his wife, who smiled back at him, then, he turned his attention back to the kids, and continued the story. "We had a day off, so I was in my hotel room about to relax. I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard my cell phone ringing in the room."

* * *

"Wouldn't you know it?" Rufus grumbled. He shook the water out of his hair, then quickly tied a towel around his waist before heading out of the bathroom. He found his phone on the nightstand, and looked at the number. _Jenny Franklin._ "What the heck?" he muttered to himself. _Lily's friend?_ He clicked the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Rufus, this is Jenny Franklin, Lily's friend."

Yep! Lily's friend. Rufus scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Hey, Jenny, what's up?"

"Well, Lily will kill me for calling you, but I just had to," Jenny began.

"I'm listening." Rufus wondered where in the world this was going.

"Well, our senior prom is on Friday, and Lily needs a date. I'm sorry. I know it's late notice, but... Lily has to go to take pictures for the yearbook, but she doesn't have a date. She had planned on getting Trent to go with her, so she turned down anyone that asked her out. Now that she knows she was dreaming thinking Trent would go with her, it's too late. Everyone she might have been interested in has already asked someone else. Now she's upset she's going to be a dateless loser," Jenny explained.

"She's not a loser," Rufus defended.

"I know that! I told her so, but she disagrees with me," Jenny replied.

"So, you want me to take her to the prom?" Rufus asked, trying to understand exactly what Jenny was asking of him.

"Yes. I know she claims she doesn't like you, but I see the way she looks at you. Trust me—she wants you. She's just angry with herself for falling for you, so she takes her anger out on you."

Rufus thought about that for a moment. "You really think so?"

"Yes!" Jenny insisted. "Trust me. I'm her best friend, and I know when my best friend likes someone. She's totally into you whether she wants to admit it or not! I know she'll secretly be thrilled if you take her to the prom. So, are you free? Will you take her to the prom?"

Rufus rubbed his chin. He'd hate for any of those guys to change their mind and ask Lily to the prom. "If I say yes, you have to make sure she doesn't say yes to someone else last minute."

"I promise, she won't be going with anyone but you." Jenny stated.

Rufus sighed. "Are you sure she won't kill me?" He was only half joking.

Jenny laughed. "I assure you, she won't even try to kill you. "So, is that a yes?"

Rufus thought about it for only a second more. "Sure! I'm still a little worried how she is going to react, but I can't stand her going to the prom all alone. Nor can I stand her going with a guy other than me."

"Yay! I'll text you her address. Pick her up at six on Friday," Jenny said.

Rufus didn't want to admit he already had Lily's address, because then Jenny would want to know how, and possibly think he was a stalker once finding out. So, instead, he played along. It would be convenient having the address in his phone anyway. "Sounds good. Hey, Jenny, where did you get my number? Did Lily give it to you?"

Jenny paused. "Um... She threw it in the trash, but she was just embarrassed that I found it in her jacket pocket. I'm sure that's all it was."

Rufus put his hand to his forehead and shook his head. He hoped he wasn't getting himself into something he was going to regret. Then again, how could he ever regret going to the prom with Lily? He couldn't! "I'll be there at seven. Just prepare her ahead of time so she doesn't kill me on the spot please? I'm too young to die."

Jenny snickered. "Don't worry—she'll behave. I'll see to it."

Rufus sighed. "I guess I'll see you Friday then."

"Thanks, Rufus. This means a lot," Jenny said.

"I just hope it will mean as much to her as it means to you," Rufus stated.

"Don't worry, it will," Jenny promised.

"Bye, Jenny."

"Bye, Rufus. And thanks again!"

Rufus hung up his phone, and set it on the nightstand. He sighed, and just lay with his head propped up by his hands as he thought about his conversation with Jenny. He couldn't help but smile. He was going to the prom with Lily! True, Lily hadn't asked him, and would probably be mad as hell once she found out what Jenny had done. But, who cared? He was going to the prom with Lily, the woman of his dreams! He wasn't going to let anyone or anything get him down—not even the image of Lily scowling in his mind. In fact, that image only made him smile.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 5: Best Friend Did What?**_

"Lily, will you come in here, please? I want to talk to you about something," Cece called from the kitchen.

Lily bit her bottom lip. _Did she know what _really_ happened the night she drugged her?_ She was sitting on the bed, where she had pictures for the next issue of _In the Know_ lain out.

She looked at the many pictures she had taken of Trent at both concerts. It seemed so trivial and stupid now. He never wanted her. He never would either. It probably didn't even have anything to do with Rufus. He probably would have screwed her, then found another virgin groupie to devirginize.

She looked at the pile of pictures she had taken of Rufus. She hadn't remembered taking so many of him. She didn't even know why she had. Even just looking at him now brought back her anger. Whether Trent didn't want her because of Rufus, or because he was just a jerk, the bottom line was that Rufus had ruined an amazing experience for her.

She picked up a picture of Rufus smiling for the camera. She didn't even remember taking that shot. She was about to rip it, but hesitated for a moment. It _was_ a pretty good shot, if she did say so herself. She supposed she could keep it—soully for _In the Know_ purposes of course. Some girl with poor taste in men might like it.

"Lillian Diana Rhodes! Get your ass in here now!"

Lily sighed, and rolled her eyes. She dropped the picture of Rufus, then headed into the kitchen. She could always deny anything her mother accused her of. There was no proof of anything. Though her mother would be the type to go to the hospital to have it medically proven that she was drugged, the drugs should be out of her system by now.

Lily headed into the kitchen, and sat down at the table in front of her mother. She sighed. "What is it, Mother?"

Cece smirked, and slid over an envelope.

Lily picked up the envelope and looked at it. It was from Brown. It was opened. She looked up at her mother with an eyebrow arched. "Mother, why is this open?"

Cece didn't even try to deny that she opened it. "I'm the one who made you apply. I think that gives me the right to open it."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Stop with the teenage attitude and look at it already!" Cece snapped.

Lily fought back another eye roll, and took out the letter. She quickly scanned it. She looked up at her mother. "I got accepted," she said in surprise. "Then again, you already know that."

Cece nodded. "I'm proud of you, Lily! Now you have the opportunity to really make something of yourself! Who knows? Maybe if you major in photojournalism, your photos will make it in the New York Times instead of that silly little school paper."

Lily shot Cece a look. "Mother, the school paper is _not_ silly. I enjoy working on it, and people enjoy seeing my work. Besides, even the most talented photojournalists have to start somewhere, right?"

Cece held her nose in the air. "Whatever you say. You better send in your acceptance letter right away. It's tough getting into Brown as it is."

Lily was about to tell her mother that she really had no real interest in going to Brown, or any other college for that matter. She wanted to take a year off. Maybe explore her career opportunities. Did anyone actually _need_ college nowadays anyway? I mean, she was already a fantastic photographer. Why pay thousands of dollars to find out how to do what she already knew how to do?

Cece spoke up before Lily could tell her any such thing. "I'll tell you what. Since you got into Brown, and since you've been studying, and on good behavior lately, I'll forget about your grounding."

Lily looked up and smiled at her mother; surprised. "Really?"

Cece nodded. "I think you've been punished enough. I guess I did overreact with the cops a bit."

Lily smirked. _You think?_ She didn't want her mother to change her mind, so she kept the thought to herself. Instead, she got up out of her chair, headed over to her mother, wrapped her arms around her, and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Mom. I love you."

Cece smiled, and gently stroked her daughter's hair. "I love you too. You know I only do what I feel is best for you, right?"

Lily nodded, and put on a smile. "Of course, Mother. May Jenny come over since I'm officially ungrounded?"

Cece nodded. "Just make sure you get your acceptance letter ready. They do have deadlines for acceptance you know."

Lily nodded. "Of course, Mother." She kissed her again, then grabbed her letter, and ran off to her room. She tossed the letter onto her desk, then threw herself down onto her bed, and dialed up Jenny's number.

Jenny answered on the third ring. "What's up, Lily?"

Lily grinned. "I got accepted into Brown, so my mother ungrounded me as a reward. Also, since I've been on my best behavior." She giggled. She really _is_ like a prison warden! I'm let out of jail on good behavior."

Jenny sounded amused. "I thought you weren't going to college."

"I'm not, but my mother doesn't have to know that," Lily said.

Jenny snickered. "I think she'll find out once you don't go."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, by then I'll be moved out, and I won't have to worry about what she thinks anyway."

"Maybe I can get an off campus apartment, and you can live with me!" Jenny suggested.

"Did you get accepted anywhere?" Lily asked.

"I'm waiting to hear back from Yale and Princeton, but I'm a straight A student. I should get in."

Lily smirked. "Are you forgetting your Algebra grades? You're not a straight A student."

"Hey, I may not be an A student in math, but I'm not bad! I got a 'B' on that test you helped me study for. If you continue to help me, I know I can do even better," Jenny insisted.

"All right, all right," Lily said with a nod, even though she was fully aware that Jenny couldn't see her nod.

Jenny changed the subject. "Well, anyway, since you're officially out on parol, what do you say we go dress shopping for the prom?"

Lily hesitated. "I can help _you_ pick out a dress, but you know I'm not going with anyone, so there's no use in _me_ buying one."

"But you're still going! You still have to look good. Don't you want to make all those hot boys sorry they didn't drop their dates and take you instead? And don't you want to tease all the boys that have no chance in heck with you?" Jenny asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Lily smiled. She could practically _see_ Jenny smiling on the other end of the line. "Oh, all right! Since you put it _that_ way."

Jenny squealed. "Okay yay! I'll see you in ten Hot Chick!"

Lily smirked. "Bye, Jenny."

"Bye, Lily," Jenny said in the same amused tone.

Lily hung up the phone, and shook her head in amusement. Jenny was a trip—she'd give her that.

She got up off the bed, and began to get ready to go out. She supposed dress shopping might be kind of fun. After all, making boys jealous was her specialty.

* * *

"It's getting late. We can finish later if you want. The rain has stopped now," Lily said, breaking from the story.

"Are you kidding me? Who cares if the rain stopped? You can't stop there. Keep going!" Jenny pushed.

Scott nodded. "Please don't stop. Who knows when the next time we'll all be together again. I don't want to wait to hear what happens next."

"You can't stop now, Lily," Dan chimed in.

Lily smirked. "Relax! I was only kidding. Do you want me to tell you about the shopping, or skip straight to the night of the prom?"

"Shopping!" Serena and Jenny said at the same time Eric, Scott, Chuck, and Dan all said, "Skip to the night of the prom!"

"Aw, come on, boys! I hate shopping too, but this part's kind of good. And sort of crucial to the story," Rufus said to the boys.

Lily smiled at her husband. "Well, I wouldn't say it's _crucial_ to the story, but I can see why you like it so much." She playfully nudged him with her elbow.

Rufus looked at her and licked his lips. "You looked so hot in that dress. I'm not going to lie—I wanted to get you out of it the moment I saw you in it."

Lily smirked, and gently stroked his cheek. "I wish you had."

Rufus shook his head. "Back then, no you didn't. You would have had me castrated if I had tried such a thing."

Lily nodded. "True."

Dan cleared his throat. "Okay, back to the story please. No need to get all disgusting again."

Lily shot her stepson an amused look. "Oh all right! So, Jenny picked me up right when she said she was going to. Of course my mother had to be nosy and ask all kinds of questions once she found out we were dress shopping for the prom."

* * *

"Who are you going with?" Cece asked upon hearing that her daughter and Jenny were going dress shopping for the prom.

"I'm not going with anyone, Mother. I'm only going to take photos for the yearbook," Lily answered, trying to keep it simple, but, at the same time, knowing that her mother would never settle for such a vague answer.

"Why aren't you going with anyone? Don't tell me no boy asked you!" Cece said, staring at Lily as if trying to read her mind.

Lily sighed. "Of course not, Mother. I had a lot of boys ask me, but I turned them down because I wanted to go with someone else. When said someone didn't ask me, it was too late; everyone that had asked me already had found someone else to go with them by now."

"Who did you hope asked you? I have half a mind to give them a piece of my mind!" Cece said.

Lily smirked at the thought of her mother giving Trent a piece of his mind for not taking her daughter to a prom he never even knew about. "His father got transferred to California, so he had to transfer schools. You don't know him."

"He transferred schools this late in the school year?" Cece asked, suspicious.

Lily fought back a sigh of frustration. Why did her mother always have to be so fricking nosy? "His mother is a substitute teacher, so she is just going to homeschool him for the rest of the year."

"Well, then, that isn't transferring schools. His new home isn't a new school," Cece said.

Lily sighed. "Well, it's school to him. We really have to go now. I want to get a good dress before they are all taken."

Cece swiped the air with her hand. "I doubt everyone is going to shop at the same place and the same time, but whatever. Go and get your dresses. I'm going out with Evelin soon anyway. We're going to lunch, and then we're going to see that new Robert Dinero movie. That man is incredibly sexy!"

Jenny snickered, and Lily smirked.

"Have fun, Mom." Lily kissed her mother's cheek.

"Bye Mrs. Rhodes," Jenny said.

"Goodbye, Ladies. Have fun," Cece said.

Jenny and Lily both left then before Cece could think of anything else to stop them.

They got in the car, and Jenny was off to the mall within seconds.

"Your mom is funny," Jenny said as she pulled out onto the highway.

Lily smirked, and took out a cigarette from her purse. "You want her?" She lit the cigarette, then put it in her mouth.

"Not likely!" Jenny said.

Lily smirked, then handed Jenny the cigarette.

Jenny took the cigarette and gave it a few puffs as Lily switched the radio from a Nine Inch Nails song to a Guns N' Roses song.

Nine Inch Nails were so dead to her.

When they got to the mall, they went straight to their favorite store, _Dress You Up._ It always had the most beautiful dresses, and specialized in prom dresses.

"So, what color do you think you want to get?" Jenny asked Lily.

Lily shrugged. "I'm not sure. I didn't even know I was going to be getting a prom dress until today, remember?"

"Well, didn't you plan on wearing one if you went with Trent?" Jenny asked.

Lily smirked, despite her new dislike for Trent. "I was thinking more of what I was going to wear underneath—or not wear."

Jenny laughed, and playfully pushed her. "Well, I know I want something red or pink. You know how I love my pink. However, red is sexy and passionate."

Lily smiled. "What color do you think I'd look good in?"

Jenny smiled at her. "Are you kidding me? You'd look good in _any_ color. Heck, if I were a lesbian, I'd totally go for you!"

An old lady who was dress shopping with a teen who was more than likely her granddaughter, cast a look over at Jenny.

Jenny and Lily both giggled.

"Poor girl. Who wants to go prom dress shopping with their grandmother? I bet her dress will be hideous!" Jenny said.

Lily cast a look at the old lady. She was now pointing out a semi-cute light blue dress. It was a little frumpy, but still cute. "I'd rather go with my grandmother than with my mother. My mother would have an opinion on _everything_!"

Jenny nodded. "I hear _that_!"

"Well, let's go pick out dresses. I'll go this way, you go that way, and we'll meet in the middle with or pick or picks," Jenny suggested.

Lily nodded her agreement.

So, they went off and looked for the perfect dresses.

Lily didn't really feel the need to look all that great. True, she didn't want to look gnarly, but she didn't have a date, so she didn't have to look as good as she normally would.

She searched through the dresses, feeling the fabrics of some. It took her only about two minutes to find a long, flowing, ocean blue leopard print dress. It was strapless, and had a bra style cut. There was a black silk band that hugged right below the breasts. There was dark blue and light blue mesh that covered over the bottom of the dress and overtop of the blue leopard print. It was kind of rockstarish, and Lily totally adored it.

She quickly found Jenny to show her.

Jenny had a dark pink dress in her hands. "I think I found my dream dress. I want to try it on first. Let's see yours." She looked over at the dress Lily was holding up, then smirked. "Uh... No!"

Lily looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean, 'Uh... No!'?"

"That's so frumpy! This is our senior prom—not our junior prom! Here. I found one for you when I was looking for mine." Jenny led Lily to a row of short pink dresses. She picked up and handed her a light pink dress. "Here. try this on." She took the one Lily had picked, and set it aside. "Come on! Let's go try these on!" She ran excitedly towards the changing rooms.

Lily longingly eyed the dress she herself had picked, but gave it up. Jenny could be bossy when she wanted to be.

With a sigh, she carried the dress Jenny picked out for her to the dressing rooms.

Five minutes later, Jenny called out to Lily from inside the dressing room. "Are you ready?"

Lily looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was a pale pink. It had a bra style cut with a silk pink bow tied tightly below the breasts. The top part had a bumpy texture to it. The skirt of the dress consisted of three layers of mesh and silk. It had thin spaghetti straps. It was extremely short. It went barely to mid thigh. Lily had to admit, she looked rather hot in it. She was just unsure if she would look stupid dressing so hot when she had no date. "I'm ready, I guess."

So, Lily opened he door, and stepped out of the dressing room.

Jenny stepped out of _her_ dressing room, and they looked at each other's dresses.

Jenny's dress, Lily saw, was magenta in color. It was similar to hers, only it was strapless, and the top was slightly lower cut. Also, instead of the top having a bumpy texture, it had silver embroidery. There was a bow that tied underneath the breasts on this one as well, but the bow was slightly smaller. The bottom was silk and mesh, but it was just one layer, and it had silver embroidery there as well, almost making it look like it had shining stars on it. It looked hot on Jenny.

"Do you like it?" Jenny asked with a grin. She twirled around.

Lily smirked. "You look hot in it, but the dress is kind of giving off a trampy vibe."

Jenny smirked too. "Well, good, because that is exactly the kind of vibe I am going for!"

They both laughed.

"All right, so, how do you like mine? I'm not sure I like it. Does it look too little girlish?" Lily asked, hanging onto the skirt of her dress and swaying from side to side.

Jenny whistled. "Lily, you look fabulous! The guys are going to be eating out the palm of your hand. They will be _so_ sorry they didn't take you to the prom instead of the bimbos they are bringing."

Lily turned to the full-length mirror and smiled. "You really think so?"

Jenny nodded. "I _know_ so! Trust me, Lily. You totally have to get that dress! I know I'm getting _mine_."

Lily nodded, then sighed. "All right. If you say so."

Jenny nodded too. "I do. Now, let's go buy these so we can get to looking for shoes and jewelry!"

"I really don't see why _I_ need to go all out just to take some pictures," Lily said as she followed her best friend to the checkout counter.

"It's all about breaking some hearts, Lily Girl!" Jenny said, not even looking back.

Lily smiled, and shook her head. "Whatever you say."

* * *

"Okay, so when do we get to the interesting part? Cuz I'm not feeling it right now," Dan said.

Serena gently slapped his arm. "She's getting to it! _I_ think it's interesting."

Jenny nodded. "Me too!"

"That's because your girls," Chuck said, in his same old monotone that left the girls wondering if he was bored, or if it was just his usual way of speaking.

"I kind of like hearing this too," Eric said.

"That's because you're gay," Scott said casually, without missing a beat.

Eric looked at him in shock, and Jenny burst out laughing.

"You learn fast, Scott!" Jenny said, high fiving her half brother.

Eric shot Scott a look. "Trader!"

Scott shrugged. "I'm neutral! I'm willing to mock her too."

Jenny rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

"All right, all right! It's getting later, and I'm getting tired!" Rufus looked over at his wife, his hand resting on her leg. He gently rubbed it."Please continue Lil, so I can get to my part of the story and still have the energy to tell it."

Lily smiled at him and placed her hand overtop of his with a nod. Then, she looked back to the kids, and continued her story.

"I won't bore you with the shoe and jewelry shopping, but I ended up getting beautiful silver and light pink dangling earrings. They were real pink diamonds. They were expensive, but too beautiful to pass up. I think Jenny's enthusiasm for the prom was rubbing off on me. They there in the shape of tiny flowers on top and bottom with a pink teardrop diamond in the middle. My shoes were strappy silver stilettos with a line of diamonds down the middle of the foot. The heel was made of diamonds as well. Those diamonds were faux, but no one at school would even know the difference. I got a pink diamond cuff bracelet, and a pink glass pearl necklace. I even got these tiny pink clip on faux diamonds for my hair. I was going to have it done up."

* * *

"Your jewelry rocks!" Jenny said as they headed out of the mall.

Lily grinned. "So does yours!" Jenny had gotten a sterling silver bracelet that had a big diamond in the middle and small diamonds around the rest of the band. Her earrings were heart-shaped and dangly. They were silver with magenta colored jewels. Her necklace was a simple silver necklace with a pinkish faux diamond heart. Her shoes were silver with a silver flower over the toes. They both were going to look hot, and they both knew it!

"I'm going to look so hot, I'll have to take a picture of myself!" Lily joked.

Jenny laughed. "I wouldn't blame you! I'm really glad you're getting into this whole prom thing now."

Lily smiled at her friend. "Me too."

Jenny raised an eyebrow at her friend. "So, should we get our hair and nails done the day of the prom?"

Lily nodded. "You know it!"

They grinned at each other and high-fived.

Lily smiled to herself as they loaded the back of Jenny's convertible with their prom purchases. She was actually looking forward to this prom. Who knew? Maybe she'd meet the man of her dreams at the prom. She smirked at her own thought. You never knew...

Friday arrived so quickly. As planned, Lily and Jenny went to the salon to get their hair and nails done. They then went home, and got ready together at Lily's.

The finished product was pretty amazing, if Lily did say so herself. Her nails were a pretty sparkling baby pink. She even got her toes done to match. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and adorned with the pink jewels she had bought for it. All her makeup was in shades of light pink, and she was wearing her trademark perfume. It smelled like Lilies. She had it specially made just for her. She even got to name it herself. She called it Lilyful. She knew the name was a little lame, but she only took photos—she wasn't a writer.

Jenny chose the classic Channel No. 5 for her perfume. As for her hair, well, she had it loosely pinned up with a magenta colored flower on the side. Her lipstick was magenta, as was her eyeshadow. Everything else was subtle. Her fingernails and toes were painted magenta with silver flowers painted on them as well.

"We're hot!" Jenny said as they both looked in the full-length mirror.

Lily smiled at their reflection in the mirror. She stood at Jenny's left side. "We sure are!"

The bell rang, and a moment later, Lily heard the door open. She heard her mother saying something, but couldn't hear her clearly because she in Jenny were in Lily's room, and had a Guns N' Roses CD playing.

"Lily!" Cece called out. "There is someone out here claiming to be your date! I thought you said you didn't have a date!"

Lily looked at Jenny in confusion. "My date?"

Jenny blushed. "Surprise! I knew how much you didn't want to go to the prom alone, so I found someone to go with you."

Lily scrunched her eyebrows together. "Who?"

Jenny blushed even more. Her eyes instinctively fell towards the garbage can.

Lily followed Jenny's eyes, and felt her cheeks pale. "You didn't!"

When Jenny didn't respond, Lily ran to the garbage can. She searched it, and didn't find the napkin with Rufus' number on it.

She whipped around to face Jenny, her fists clenched. "I'm. Going. To. **Kill you**!"

Jenny swallowed hard, and shrugged. "Surprise?" she said timidly.

Lily's eyes narrows.

"Uh, yeah, I'm dead." Jenny said.

Lily could feel her nails digging into her palms now. Indeed she was.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 6: New Meaning To the Term Punched **_

"I hope you're not going to kick him out," Scott said.

Lily smirked. "I wanted to at first; believe me."

"But you didn't because you loved me," Rufus said, grinning smugly.

Lily smirked at him. "Not at that moment."

Rufus crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, come on, Lil! You know darn well, you were as in love with me as I was in love with you!"

Lily shook her head. "I barely knew you! Unlike you, I wasn't one to fall in love at first sight. I had to get to know you better first. I had put up with a lot of crap, and I'd seen a lot of immature teenage boys before you came along. I just needed to learn to trust you first."

"Well, I sure had to go through a hell of a lot of work to get you to finally trust me!" Rufus stated.

Lily nodded. "But I was worth it, wasn't I?"

Rufus looked away. "Now that we are retelling the story, I really don't think you were!"

Jenny gasped. "Dad!"

Rufus grinned at Lily, who was now pouting. He gently stroked her cheek. "You know I'm just teasing you. You were _so_ worth it." He took her face gently between his hands and lovingly kissed her pout away.

Lily smiled, then kissed him back. "As were you."

"Okay, okay, okay! So, what happened next? How did you react to him?" Eric asked.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, how did you react?"

Lily smiled at her sons. "Well, even though I was furious, I didn't want to lose my cool. It would make me look less like a loser since I had a date, so I was willing to assess the situation before going of on a rampage."

* * *

"Lily, get your butt out here and tell me if you know this kid! He says his name is Rufus!" Cece yelled out.

Lily stormed over to the CD player and pressed the off button so hard it made her finger hurt.

"You better go. Rufus is waiting. You can kill me later." Jenny smiled, then quickly ran out the door with a squeal when Lily clenched her fists again and tried to shoot fiery daggers at her with her eyes. _If looks could kill..._

Lily ran out of the room to try to catch up with Jenny, but Jenny was already on her way out the front door. "Hi, Rufus! I'll see you in a bit. Thank you so much for coming! Sorry, but I can't stay. I have to meet my date at my house. Good luck! Bye, Lily!" Jenny slammed the door behind her.

Rufus looked at Lily, and licked his lips.

Lily didn't like the way her was looking at her. She could practically _see_ him undressing her with his eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

Cece nodded towards Rufus. "Is he really your date, or do you want me to kick his ass to the curb?"

Lily sighed. As tempting as the latter sounded, she really _didn't_ want to go to the prom alone. And, Rufus did look kind of sexy in his white suit. He even had a pink flower pinned to the lapel, and silver cufflinks. No doubt, Jenny had told him the colors Lily was wearing. His hair was grown out a little, hanging slightly in his eyes. "It's okay. Jenny set me up with him."

"You never told _me_!" Cece griped.

"Yeah, well, she just told me like two seconds ago," Lily said bitterly.

Rufus smiled. "Hi, Lil. You look beautiful. Wow."

Lily smiled. "It's _Lily_, and I know. You look pretty good yourself." She figured she'd give him some points for coming on such short notice. And, he did look nice. She liked a boy who made an effort. She still wasn't happy about this though!

"I was going to get you a pink corsage, but, I saw this, and thought of you. I figured white goes with everything, right?" Rufus held out a wrist corsage made of lilies.

Lily smiled. She had to admit it was a cute idea. "Thank you. It's beautiful." She held out her wrist, and allowed Rufus to put it on her.

She gently brushed some hair out of his eyes. He smelled good, though she couldn't quite place the scent.

Cece loudly cleared her throat.

Rufus took the hint. He turned to her and smiled, extending his hand to her. "I'm sorry. I'm Rufus Humphrey. I met Lily when she went to a Nine Inch Nails concert. My band, Lincoln Hawk, was their opening act."

Cece eyed his hand before finally taking it, and gently shaking it. "That must have been the concert she was grounded for going to." She smirked.

Lily nodded. "Yes, it was, mother."

"You must have hit it off pretty well to be taking her to the prom after only meeting her once," Cece stated, letting go of Rufus' hand. She turned her attention to her daughter. "You didn't have sex with him, did you?"

Lily was horrified. "_Mother_!" She cast a glance at Rufus, who was smirking.

Cece shrugged. "What? It's the only thing I can think of that would possibly make you and him so close after just meeting once."

Lily quickly spoke up before Rufus could blow her cover. "Well, we did only meet once. We just hit it off good." She shot Rufus a look, hoping he'd understand that he had to shut up about their second meeting.

Rufus winked at her, and gave her a slight smile. He turned back to Cece. "Your daughter loved my band's music, and, when we met after the show, she kept gushing over me and how much she loved my band's music. It's not often I get a fan that actually wants to talk about the music, and not just how hot the band members are. I was impressed. She's different from all the other girls."

Cece seemed to ponder this for a moment. "So you think you and your band are hot?"

Rufus shrugged. "According to the fans." He grinned.

Lily was amused. She had to hand it to the guy—he was a quick thinker.

Cece looked Rufus up and down. "I don't think you're all _that_ hot."

Lily burst out laughing. She couldn't help it. The whole situation was hilarious to her. "Mother, don't be rude."

Cece shrugged. "What? I'm just being honest."

"Well, we really should be going. I need to get there a little early to get good shots of the couples as they walk in," Lily said, grabbing Rufus' arm.

Rufus smiled, obviously pleased with this new arrangement

"Well, at least let me take a picture of you two first," Cece said.

"We'll get some taken at school. They have a hired photographer there as well, so..." Lily trailed off. She just wanted to get out of there and away from her mother's prying eyes and ears.

"Well, I want a home shot!" Cece insisted.

Lily sighed. She unlatched herself from Rufus, and grabbed her camera bag, which was right by the door. She took the camera out, and handed it to her mother before showing her the right button to push. She turned the flash on for her since her mother wasn't exactly technically inclined.

She then headed over to Rufus, and linked her arm with his again.

"Get closer than that! Go cheek to cheek. Act like you're actually going together instead of just posing together for the camera," Cece ordered.

Lily sighed, but did as told. She didn't dare look at Rufus. She was sure he was smiling from ear to ear. She knew he must be living this up.

Cece took a picture.

Lily started to move away.

"Wait! I want to take one more just in case the first one didn't come out," Cece stated.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Mother, don't waste my film!"

Cece rolled her eyes as well. "Please! It's only one more photo, and it's not like you don't have four other rolls in your bag."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You looked in my bag?"

Cece shrugged. "I got bored. Now latch arms and look happy!"

Lily did as her mother requested, simply to shut her up.

After her mother took the shot, Lily too the camera, and placed it back in her bag. She zipped up the bag, then headed back over to Rufus. "Let's go."

Rufus nodded, and placed his hand over her lower back as they headed for the door.

"At least use protection if you're going to get a room!" Cece called out to them.

Lily felt her face flush as she placed her arm over Rufus' back to move him along faster.

Finally, they were outside, the door shut behind them.

Rufus turned to her and smiled, an eyebrow raised. "We only met once, huh?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I was grounded, so I had to drug my mother with sleeping pills before going to the second concert. She thinks we were both sleeping in our beds the whole time. Well, she thought _I_ fell asleep after doing some homework."

Rufus shook his head and laughed. "You sure are a piece of work, Lil."

Lily glared at him. "It's _Lily_; not Lil. And you have to promise me you won't tell her."

Rufus smiled. "I'd never do that to you, Lil."

First, Lily narrowed her eyes at him for calling her Lil. Then, she said the two words that killed her to say to him. "Thank you."

Rufus took her hand and gently squeezed it. "You're welcome!"

Lily glanced at him as if in a warning, and pulled her hand away. "Also, thank you for not blowing my cover about the concert. Though, the lie made me want to roll my eyes. Me all over you; such a typical male lie."

Rufus grinned. "At least she fell for it, right?"

They got outside, and he nodded towards the white limo in front of the apartment. "I thought we'd head to the prom in style, so I rented us a limo."

"Being the big pop star you are, you can afford it, right?" Lily asked as the limo driver opened the door for her. She was impressed, but she didn't want Rufus to know that.

"But we're not as talented as Nine Inch Nails, as you once said, so I don't have nearly as much money as you might think. I did it just because I felt you deserved a limo on your prom night. We're picking up Jenny and Billy, along the way since I know you probably want to arrive with your best friend." Rufus held out his hand, motioning for her to go in first.

Lily suddenly felt bad for acting snotty. Though he could be annoying, and she was still kind of angry with him for the Trent incident, Rufus had done a lot for her tonight. And the night had only just started! She smiled at him, and gently placed a hand overtop of his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Thank you, Rufus. I really appreciate this. I do."

Rufus grinned, and put his right hand behind his ear. "Excuse me? What was that? It sounded like you said you're sorry."

Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled. "That's the only time you're going to hear it, so you're out of luck if you missed it!" She got into the limo, and sat down on the two-seater.

Rufus got in, and sat down next to her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "There are six other seats back here, and you had to chose the one right next to me?"

He shrugged. "Like it or not, I'm your date, and I'd like to sit next to my date, thank you very much!" He placed his arm around her.

Lily sighed, and glared at him, but relaxed into his arm. The truth was, she kind of did like Rufus being her date. But she'd be dammed if she admitted it out loud!______________________________________________________________________

"Don't tell me you're suddenly going to fall in love with him and lose your virginities in a hotel room on prom night," Jenny said.

Scott smirked. "It'd be more action than _you've_ ever seen."

Eric burst out laughing, and high-fived his half brother.

Scott grinned at him. "See? I told you I was willing to rag on her too."

Jenny smirked. "Well, the jokes on you because I've had sex plenty of times!"

Rufus spit out his water. He had gotten up and poured himself a glass while Lily was telling the story. His part was up next, and he hadn't wanted his throat to be dry while telling it. Now, the water ended up on Chuck's shirt.

"_Nice_. You're lucky this is an old shirt, and that it is only water. Still, disgusting nonetheless," Chuck said in such a nonchalant manner that it made Serena laugh.

They all looked at Serena.

Serena shrugged. "What? I thought it was funny the way he said it so nonchalantly."

Rufus turned his attention back to Jenny. "You had better be joking, or I'm making you wear a chastity belt for the rest of your life."

Jenny smirked. "Chillax, Dad. It was a _joke_."

Rufus crossed his arms over his chest. "In that case, I should _really_ make you wear one to assure you stay pure."

Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Well, that's not quite what happened on prom night anyway," Lily said to her stepdaughter.

Dan suddenly snickered. "I've seen it on TV and in movies, but I've never seen someone spit out water in person." He laughed.

Chuck glanced at him. "Very funny. It's a barrel of laughs." His monotone never wavered once.

"All right, Honey, do you want to tell the next part of the story?" Lily asked her husband. She gently rubbed his chest.

He looked over at her, his eyes filled with love. He nodded, and quickly kissed her before turning back to the kids. "All right. So, we picked up Jenny, and Billy. I instantly did not like Billy."

* * *

"Hey, cool car, Dude. Thanks for setting this up!" Jenny said as she climbed into the limo, her date right behind her. They sat to the right of Rufus and Lily.

"No problem. Thanks for calling me and inviting me here," Rufus said.

Billy smirked. "You invited Rufus to be Lily's date?"

Jenny nodded. "Because Lily was too stubborn and prideful to ask him herself."

Lily glared at her friend. "_Lily_ is right here. And I was not! I was perfectly willing to go without a date!" She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"I can't believe no one asked you. You're smoking hot!" Billy said to Lily.

Jenny elbowed him hard.

Billy rubbed his arm. "Ow! Not as hot as you of course, My love."

Lily shot him a look. "Yeah, well, I had offers, trust me. I just turned them all down. I'm picky about who I date."

"Well, then, why'd you pick him?" Billy nodded towards Rufus. He burst out laughing when Rufus glared at him. He held up his hands. "I'm just kidding, Man!"

"Jenny picked him for me, remember?" Lily asked. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Okay, now I'm starting to feel used," Rufus said, a little miffed. He adored Lily, but he was getting tired of Billy's non-funny jokes, and Lily's attitude. He had been nothing but nice and caring since meeting her, and this was how she repaid him? And, as for Billy, where did he come across insulting him and practically hitting on his date, when they had just met a minute ago?

Lily sighed. "Relax! If you want to hang with us, you need to get used to our senses of humor. We don't mean anything by it. I appreciate you taking me tonight. To tell you the truth, you're a lot more respectful to me then most of the losers at school."

Rufus calmed down a bit. Well, at least she called him respectful.

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, it's really cool you came. You're way better than any of the brain dead moron boys at school."

Billy shot her a look. "Hey!"

She smiled, and clung onto his arm. "Except for you, of course!"

Billy smiled at her. "That's better!"

They arrived at the school a short while later, and Billy got out first so that he could help Jenny out.

Rufus followed suit, and got out next, taking Lily's hand, and helping her out of the car.

Lily smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Lil." Rufus took her hand and kissed it.

Lily smiled, and headed into the school, her hand still in Rufus' as they followed Jenny and Billy.

Rufus looked at Lily in surprise. "Wow! Not only did you not snap at me for calling you Lil, but you didn't let go of my hand either. Are you feeling okay?"

Lily smirked at him. "I've learned that chastising you for calling me Lil isn't going to stop you from doing it. And, well, since you came all the way out here just to be my date, I figured I owe you a little hand holding."

Rufus smirked. "Honestly, I was happy for the break. Nine Inch Nails has two opening acts now; counting Lincoln Hawk; so they don't really need Lincoln Hawk anymore. I think we're going to do a few more shows, then they are just going to stick with one opening act. The group is a new group called Grave Robbers. They're all right, but they have nothing on Lincoln Hawk. I think Nine Inch Nails just want them because they're cheap. We're working on our own tour though. A man came up to us at a show the other week, and he says he wants to manage us."

Lily was only half listening. "That's great." They had arrived at the prom ticket table, and she was eager to get their tickets so that she could get in there and start snapping photos.

"Four tickets please, under Jenny Franklin, Billy Van Der Woodsen, Lily Rhodes, and Rufus Humphrey," Jenny said to the person in charge of handing out the tickets.

The ticket holder looked on the list for their names. Once he found confirmation that the four were on his list, he took out four tickets from and envelope, and handed them to Jenny.

Jenny smiled. "Thanks!" She handed her friends each a ticket, then linked her arm with Billy's again, and the four of them headed into the prom after giving the ticket taker their tickets.

"Let's all get in line for the professional photos before the line gets too big," Jenny suggested.

Billy nodded, and let her lead him to the dark blue backdrop with tiny lights all over it, making it look like a starry night.

Rufus grinned at Lily. "Wanna get one?"

Lily sighed. "Oh, I don't know. I really need to be setting up so that I can take my own photos."

Rufus placed a hand overtop of her shoulder. "But you promised your mother one, remember? Besides, I might like one to remember the night. Wouldn't you?"

Lily sighed. "If we must. Mother _would_ have a cow if we didn't bring home a picture for her."

Rufus grinned, and squeezed her hand as they got in line.

Five minutes later, they were up, after having watched Jenny and Billy ham it up for the camera.

Lily stood still and stiff, as if she just wanted to get this over with.

"Come on, guys! Get a little closer! You look like two acquaintances who just happened to come across each other." The photographer nodded towards Rufus. "What's your name?"

"Rufus! And this is Lily," Rufus told him. He moved closer to Lily, and put an arm around her.

"That's good, Rufus. Hold her tightly to you. Lily, place your hand over his chest," the photographer ordered.

Lily sighed. They may have been here together, but it didn't mean they had to _act_ like they were on a date. This was so not a date! Even so, she did as told.

The photographer shot a few shots. "All right, now turn to each other and look over at the camera. Lily, put your arms over Rufus' shoulders. Rufus, place both hands around her waist."

Rufus and Lily did as told, and the photographer snapped a few more shots.

"All right. One last pose," the photographer stated. "Kiss."

Lily felt her cheeks flush. "What?"

"Kiss!" the photographer ordered.

"You know, he means put our lips together," Rufus joked.

Lily glared at him. "I know what he said." She turned to the photographer. "We're not really a couple, you see. He's just my date for the night. But it's not really a date though, it's—"

Rufus cut her off by turning her face to his, and gently kissing her cheek (the one furthest away fro the photographer).

Lily smiled, though she had no idea why. She guessed it was because she was impressed that he didn't force a kiss on her lips. It was clear he respected her, which not a lot of guys did nowadays.

The photographer took a few quick shots, then smiled. "Perfect! I'll have them all printed out, and I'll have them for you to look at over on the table in a bit." He pointed over to the long table that set up to display the pictures he took.

"Thank you," Rufus said to him with a nod. He took Lily's hand and led her to the dace floor. "Do you want to dance, or do you want a drink or something?"

Lily grabbed her bag from her shoulder, and slid it off. "Maybe later. Right now, I have to start snapping photos for the school paper. I already missed out on some good shots because of those damn photos we had to get taken of us."

Rufus was a little hurt, though he knew he should be used to Lily's attitude by now. "All right. I guess I'll just be over there mingling then." Rufus nodded towards the snack table.

"Good. You do that," Lily said, patting his shoulder, then walking off.

Rufus sighed. Something told him it was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Wait, Billy Van Der Woodsen? Is Jenny's date the one you ended up marrying before Rufus?" Scott asked; confused.

Lily nodded. "We met in high school. Then, later, after I had you, I ran into him at the grocery store of all places. We got to talking, and, well, one thing led to another. Your father was already dating Dan and Jenny's mother at the time, so I figured that ship had sailed."

"Getting back to the story, you weren't treating Rufus very nice, Mom," Serena chastised.

Lily nodded. "I know, but cut me a break! I was a teenage girl. Teenage girls aren't always nice. You should know that."

"Like Blair," Jenny quipped.

"And you,"Chuck sniped.

Jenny rolled her eyes.

"It's all right. She gets better," Rufus said, gently rubbing his wife's back.

Lily smiled at him. "You made it impossible to resist you for very long."

Rufus smirked. "You sure held on as long as you could though."

Lily took his face with her right hand and kissed him softly on the lips. "But I made it up to you, didn't I?"

Rufus looked at her, his eyes lowered with love. "Mmm, and then some." He kissed her again.

Dan cleared his throat. "Back to the story please?" He looked at his watch. "It's going on eleven o'clock."

Rufus gave his wife one more kiss before breaking free. "All right, all right! So, I talked to some girls, and talked to some guys. There were some nice people at the school, I supposed. I told them about my band, and who I was with, and they all seemed interested enough in me. Still, I missed Lil, and wished she'd hurry up with the photos. After all, we were at the prom, and I wanted to dance with my date—especially when she looked as beautiful as she did."

* * *

After about an hour, Lily was tired of taking pictures, and wanted to relax. She was thirsty, and needed some punch since there was lack of anything better there, due to the chaperones keeping an extra close watch on the punch bowls. She would take pictures of the prom king and queen when they were announced, then that would be it. She had already taken enough pictures to fill two issues of _In The Know_ as it was. Maybe she could do a double issue, special for the prom, she figured.

"Lil!" Rufus said when he saw her, his face lighting up. "There you are. Are you ready to dance?"

Lily smirked at him. "I just want to get a drink, then relax. I've been taking pictures all night."

"Tell me about it!" Rufus muttered.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Lily asked as she poured herself some punch.

"It means, I came down here to be your date. The least you can do is give me a few dances." Rufus was feeling a little fed up by now.

Lily rolled her eyes. "_I_ didn't ask you to come—Jenny did. Remember? So you can't hold that against me. Go ask _her_ to dance if you want to dance so bad. I'm sure Billy won't mind."

Rufus had had it. He loved Lily, but he had had it up to here with her snarkiness. "Oh, stop being such a bitch, Lily!"

Lily's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

Rufus just snapped, and, before he could stop it, the words were pouring from his lips. "I've been nothing but nice to you, and, for the most part, all you've been to me is a snarky bitch! You're ungrateful for everything I've done for you, and I'm sick and tired of it!"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, well I never asked you to do any of that! You're trying to be some super hero or something, but you just end up looking like a moron! No, a dufus! You're Rufus the dufus! A bit of advice, _Dufus_, the next time you want to try to 'save' someone, make sure they want to be saved, because I sure as hell don't want to be, nor do I need to be! As far as I'm concerned, you can go straight to hell!" With that, Lily took the remainder of her punch and threw it in Rufus' face. The bright red liquid dripped down to his white suit so that it looked like he was bleeding.

_Great!_ Rufus thought sarcastically.

As if throwing the punch in his face wasn't enough, Lily threw the now empty cup at his face as well. It hit Rufus smack dab in the nose and fell to the ground.

Rufus clenched his fists and sucked in a deep breath as Lily shot him a look to kill. He then watched as she let out a frustrated scream and ran out of the gym.

"Damn it!" he swore, though the sound of, ironically enough, MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" drowned it out.

He picked up the cup and tossed it angrily into the trash can. Then he went to try to wash off his face in the bathroom—wherever that was—and to try to salvage his new, expensive suit.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 7: **_ _**Change of Heart**_

"No offense, Lily, but I can't see why my dad liked you so much. If I were him, I would have left the prom right then and there, and let you find your own ride home," Dan said to his stepmother.

Lily smirked at Dan, then smiled at Rufus. "I'm sure he thought about it."

Rufus nodded at her. "Oh, I did! But, I loved you so much, I couldn't get myself to do that, no matter how angry I was with you."

"Aw!" Lily gently took her husband's face between her hands and kissed him. "I love you too."

Jenny and Scott smiled at each other.

"I'm surprised you forgave him for calling you a bitch!" Serena said to her mother. She looked at Rufus. "And you don't strike me as the type of person to call any woman a bitch, Rufus."

Rufus turned his attention on her. "I'm not, usually, but she had pushed my last button for the night. It still didn't make it right, but I did apologize. And now," Rufus turned back to his wife, and gently stroked her cheek, "I would never call my beautiful wife a bitch."

"You've been given many chances to," Chuck said flatly.

They all looked at him.

Chuck shrugged. "I'm just sayin'.

"It's okay, it't true," Lily stated.

Rufus nodded. "Yeah, it is."

Lily gasped and gently swatted his arm.

Rufus turned to her and laughed. "What? You said it! I was just agreeing with you."

"Well, you didn't have to." Lily pouted.

Rufus kissed her pout away again, and Lily smiled; instantly forgiving him. He had his way of making her do that.

"So, anyway, what happens next? Do you stop being so mean to each other?" Jenny asked.

Rufus and Lily looked at each other.

"Do you want me to go next, or do you want to keep going?" Lily asked.

Rufus shrugged. "Whichever you'd prefer."

Lily smiled. "I'll go for just a short bit, then you can go."

Rufus nodded, gently stroked her cheek, and kissed her lips. "Okay." He smiled at her, and gave her cheek one last stroke before taking her in his arms, and facing back to the kids with her.

Lily began. "I left the gym furious! I wanted to take my mind of how angry I was, so I headed out of the gym and went searching for who knows what. All I knew was that I just had to get as far away as I could from Rufus before I punched him in the face."

Rufus smirked at this, and let his wife continue.

* * *

First, Lily went to the bathroom to make sure her hair and makeup still looked good. Of course it did. She gently patted her hair. If there was one thing she knew how to do besides taking amazing pictures, it was looking even more amazing than said pictures.

She decided she had better go to the bathroom then. She didn't want to risk having to go when it was time to take pictures of the prom king and queen.

She headed into the stall, and was just about done when two girls came into the bathroom.

"Oh my gosh, Amy, did you hear that argument Rufus and Lily had?" a girl sounding very much like a valley girl asked her friend.

"How could I not?" Amy laughed. "It was so funny when she splashed the punch in his face. Talk about being punched in the face!"

Both girls giggled.

Lily covered her mouth to stifle her own giggles.

"Well, I feel kind of bad for the guy," Valley girl said. "All he wanted to do was dance with her. Heck, _I'll_ dance with him. I'll even take him off Lily's hands if she doesn't want him. He's hot as hell! And, he plays in his own band, which opened up for Nine Inch Nails! Can you believe it? How did Lily bag a guy like _that_?"

Lily rolled her eyes at not only the fact that Rufus had told his story to more girls he doesn't even know, but also because this Valley chick, whom Lily was starting to recognize as head cheerleader Emily, actually thought she could take Rufus off her hands. Rufus loved _her_—Lily Rhodes. Not some ditzy cheerleader with implants way too big for her body.

"He sure is hot all right. It wasn't nice of him to call Lily a bitch, but, from the sounds of their argument, she deserved it," Amy stated.

Lily quietly sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Amy was right. Up until then, Rufus had been nothing but nice to her ever since meeting her, and all she had been was a snot to him.

The girls chatted a bit more while, what Lily assumed, checking their hair and makeup, then they left.

Lily quickly wiped and flushed, then pulled up her underwear, smoothed out her dress, and left the stall. She quickly washed and dried her hands, then headed out of the bathroom. She wanted to find Rufus and apologize before any skanky bimbos could get their hands on him.

She was in such a hurry that she wasn't watching where she was going, and ran smack dab into someone. "Sorry, I—" She cut herself off when she looked up and saw that it was Rufus. "Oh. It's you."

Rufus' expression was blank. "Well, at least you don't have any more punch in your hand. I barely managed to get the stain out of my suit. Lucky for me, I think they watered the punch down."

Lily blushed. "The principal is cheap, and made sure the refreshment committee only bought half the amount of punch we need and filled the rest up with water to save money."

Rufus sighed. "Well, at least it was still good for _something_, because, for drinking, it certainly is not. Nor is it good to have on your face."

Lily cringed. "About that... Look, Rufus, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spilled that punch in your face, or on your suit for that matter. It was a really bitchy thing for me to do."

Rufus shook his head. "It's all right. I called you a bitch. I deserved it. I'm sorry I called you a bitch. You're not a bitch."

Lily reached up and gently pushed some hair out of his eyes. "Well, I can sure act like one sometime."

"Ya think?" Rufus asked, sarcastically.

They grinned at each other. "You know, Prom King and Queen won't be announced for another half hour or so. What do you say I take you up on that dance before it's time for me to take more pictures? That is, if you'll still have me," Lily said. She looked away with a blush. She hated admitting she was wrong. It made her stomach churn.

Rufus gently took her chin, and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Of _course_ I'll still have you."

They smiled at each other, and Rufus took Lily's hand.

They then headed back into the gym, and onto the dance floor.

Lily smiled as many of the students looked at them enviously. She knew the boys were jealous of Rufus, and the girls were jealous of her. With good reason. They were both hot, attractive people.

Lily cast a glance at Emily, who was looking enviously at her. She smirked at Emily, and placed her head on Rufus' shoulder.

Rufus laughed. "It's a fast song, Lil. As much as I love your head on my shoulder, it does't really go with this kind of dance."

Lily lifted her head off his shoulder, and grinned up at him. "Well, then, show me what _does_ go with this kind of dance!"

Rufus grinned. "Okay, I will. Let me show you how it's done!"

Then, he began to dance, and Lily couldn't help but laugh with glee at his good, but almost embarrassing dance moves to Madonna's "Borderline."

Others were watching him and clapping him along, and Rufus was eating it all up like the ham he was.

"Come on, Lil! Dance with me!" he urged.

Lily shook her head, and held up her hands. "Oh no! I can't, I—"

Rufus cut her off by taking her hand and pulling him over to him. "Uh, uh, uh!" You said you'd dance with me, remember?"

Lily sighed. Indeed she did.

Rufus smiled at her. "Come on!" He swung her hand from side to side.

She laughed. "Ah, what the hell?" she said, giving in.

She began dancing with Rufus then, copying his good, but semi-corny dance moves the best she could.

Soon, they were both dancing, and laughing together.

Lily hadn't remembered having this much fun at a dance in a very long time—if ever.

They continued dancing and having fun until the song ended. Then, a ballad came on, and the tempo immediately changed.

Couples started holding each other close, and slowly swaying to the music as Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" began to play.

Rufus and Lily looked at each other shyly, which was weird, seeing as neither one of them was a shy person.

"Do you want to dance to this?" Rufus asked. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. I want to," Lily stated. She placed her arms over his shoulders, and he placed his hands over her waist.

They began to dance then, staring into each other's eyes as they did so.

Lily was beginning to feel a little shy. She _never_ felt shy, so this confused her.

"_Now_ you could lay your head on my shoulder if you wanted to," Rufus murmured in her ear.

Lily nodded, then did just that. She closed her eyes, and let her body sway in time with his. It felt a little weird, yet so right at the same time, being with Rufus. She was starting to wonder why exactly she hadn't liked him at first. She wondered, because now, she couldn't think of a reason _not_ to like him. He was handsome and sweet—not to mention he was a gentleman. He wasn't a pervert in the slightest, and she appreciated him even more for that. It was hard to come across a man like that, and now here one was, dancing with her in his arms. She suddenly felt like the luckiest girl on earth.

She looked up at Rufus, and found that he was looking down at her.

His eyes were lowered, and she instinctively lowered her eyes. Their lips were so close she noticed.

They both slowly began to close the final distance between their lips, when the song came to an end.

"All right, everybody! Johnny and Amy are going to be handing out the prom king and prom queen ballots!" Francesca, the head of the prom committee, announced from the makeshift stage.

Just then, Amy came over to Lily and Rufus, and shoved a ballad at them. "Here you go!" She smiled at Rufus, and bat her eyelashes at him.

Rufus took the ballot from her. "Thank you!"

Lily rolled her eyes. Not only had their first kiss been interrupted, but that Amy chick was trying to hit on her man.

Lily held Rufus closer to her, and gently led him away. "Let's find a table."

Rufus nodded, and placed his arm around her, tightly squeezing her waist.

Lily smiled at having left Amy in their dust. She also smiled at the thought of her having just called Rufus "her man" in her head. Well, in a way, he sort of was. She was the only one he wanted. At least, she had better be, she thought.

They found a table. Rufus held her chair out for her, then gently pushed her chair in for her. He then sat across from her, and took her hand in his from across the table.

They smiled at each other, and squeezed the other's hand.

_So our first kiss got interrupted,_ Lily thought. _It sure as hell doesn't mean we're not going to have another shot at one. _

"Hey, look! Jenny and Billy are on here, and so are you and me!" Rufus said.

Lily smiled. "What?" She looked down at the ballot, and sure enough, saw that Rufus and her' names were the last on the list.

She grinned at Rufus.

"I'm so voting for us!" Rufus said, checking the box next to their names.

Lily licked her lips and smiled as he did so. This night was turning out better than she thought it would.

Rufus finished checking the box, then set down the pencil, and smiled at her, squeezing her hands in his again.

Lily squeezed his hands, and grinned at him in return. She supposed Jenny didn't have to die after all.

* * *

"Aw! So you're finally falling for him! It's about time," Serena said.

Lily grinned, and gently held onto her husband's arm. "What can I say? He is too irresistible to resist for very long."

Rufus smiled at her, and gently rubbed her nose with his.

"So, do you guys become prom king and queen?" Jenny asked with a grin.

"You're just going to have to wait to hear the rest of the story," Rufus told her, his attention now back to the kids.

"Well, then hurry it up! I may be a a night owl, but patience was never my forte," Chuck stated.

"What does being a night owl have to do with patience?" Scott asked.

Chuck glanced at him. "It doesn't. I'm just saying, it being late doesn't bother me, but I'd still like to hear the rest of the story because patience isn't my thing."

Scott nodded. "Gotcha."

Eric yawned. "Sadly, we all can't be night owls, so can we please hurry this along? I am tired, but can't sleep not knowing the rest of the story."

Rufus nodded, his hand going back to rest over his wife's thigh. He gently rubbed it. "All right. I'll go next." He looked up at Lily. "Do you mind, Sweetie?"

Lily kissed him. "Not at all." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll just fill in some of the parts as you go along."

Rufus smiled, and placed his arm around his wife. He kissed the top of her head. "Sounds good!" He turned his attention back tot he kids and continued the story. "So, we danced a little bit more, then it was time for the prom king and queen to be announced." ______________________________________________________________________

Jenny and Billy were standing by in case Lily had to go on stage as the new prom queen. Jenny would take the photos if that were the case.

Lily really wished she would get to be the prom queen. Sure, on the outside, she played the role of the tough girl, not caring for shallow things like being elected prom queen. However, on the inside, she _really_ wanted this. After all, who wouldn't want to be a queen, even if it was just a prom queen? Also, the thought of having someone she actually _wanted_ to be her king as her date tonight, would make it all the more amazing.

"All right. Now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for. The ballots are in, and have been counted twice by Mr. Barley and Mrs. Berkenstein. We have your prom king and queen. Ashley, the final tally please!" Francesca held her hand out, and Ashley Davis, her best friend and unofficial co-head of the prom committee, walked over to her and handed her an envelope.

Francesca, loving being the center of attention, made a big show of opening the envelope and pulling out the index card that had the names of the winners on it. She read the names and smiled big. "And your new prom king and queen are... Billy Van Der Woodsen and Jenny Franklin!"

Jenny squealed, and jumped into Billy's arms.

Billy grinned in a cocky, arrogant sort of way, and took her hand, leading her up on stage with them.

Lily's heart sank at the announcement. And so went her dream of becoming a queen. She felt bad because she knew she should be happy for her friends. She was. She really was happy for them. But it didn't mean it still didn't hurt a little that she and Rufus hadn't won. Then again, Billy was the richest guy in school, so that had bought him a lot of popularity. And Jenny was pretty much loved by all.

With a sigh, she grabbed her camera and headed closer to the stage to take the shots. She couldn't bear to look at Rufus. She was embarrassed that they didn't win. She somehow felt that it was because of _her_ that they lost, though she didn't know why.

Lily took the shots as Jenny and Billy were crowned and given scepters. Jenny even got to wear a sash that said _Prom Queen_ on it. They kissed on stage, then headed to the middle of the dance floor to dance their "royal dance" to James Ingram's "I Don't Have the Heart." Lily took a few more shots of that, then turned her camera off and put it back in her bag. She was done, and frankly, just wanted to go home. The dance would soon be over, then she could go, she knew.

Rufus placed a hand on her shoulder from behind. "Hey, I'm sorry we didn't win. Maybe it's because I don't go here. Not a lot of people know me, or have even heard of Lincoln Hawk."

Lily turned around and smiled at him. "No, I'm sure it was me. People overheard our fight. I'm sure they saw what I bitch I was being to you, and didn't think I deserved to win."

"Well, they nominated us even after hearing the fight, didn't they?" Rufus offered.

Lily nodded, and turned to face him. "I guess so, but..." She trailed off, not really knowing what else to say.

"Well, you're not a bitch, so don't ever call yourself that again. I never should have called you one," Rufus said.

Lily smiled.

Just then, Jenny came up to them, interrupting their moment. "Hey, Lily, I just heard from Buddy Farley that he and a couple of the guys snuck in some beer. They are drinking it by the pool. They got the key from Jordan. He sneaked the key from his father's spare key rack at home."

Lily grinned. A beer was just what she needed right now. Jordan was the principal's son. He was always using his father's power (unbeknownst to his father) to help the popular kids sneak into restricted areas of the school in return for a little popularity of his own. "Let's go!" She looked up at Rufus. "You up for it?"

Rufus nodded. "I'm up for anything you are."

Billy showed up behind Jenny and linked his arm with hers, then the four of them headed to the pool to meet up with the others.

Rufus felt a little out of place. He still wasn't Billy's biggest fan. He found him quite obnoxious actually. Jordan seemed cool enough, but it was kind of annoying how he would do anything just to be popular. Then there was Jake and Ryan who reminded Rufus of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, only more brain dead. He didn't want to be a jerk, but honestly. All those two wanted to do was drink, pass gas out of both ends, then laugh hysterically. Lily and Jenny were the only girls. Jenny was sitting in Billy's lap, and they were both drinking far too much more than they should be.

Lily got up and was walking around the pool. She was a little tipsy. Rufus had had one beer, but his lack of enjoyment of the atmosphere was stopping him from having another one. He couldn't enjoy it with these morons. "Guys, maybe we should go now. I'm sure they're about to have the last dance." He looked at his watch for emphasis.

Jenny giggled. "Like we're interested in the last dance! We already had our royal dance. Who needs a last dance when you've had a royal dance?"

Billy grinned. "And we're about to have a _sexual_ dance in a few. We got a room at The Hilton."

Jenny giggled, and kissed him hard, her tongue halfway down Billy's throat.

Rufus crinkled his nose and looked away. "Are you sure you're up for that?" He was asking Jenny, though he couldn't bear to look at her right now.

"I think _I'm_ the one you should be asking that question. I can assure you, I'm more than 'up' for it!" Billy joked.

Jenny laughed, and Rufus felt like upchucking his beer.

All the sudden, Jake let out a loud fart. He nodded towards Jordan. "Hey, Jordan! Get down there and sniff that." He nodded down towards his butt. "Does it smell like beer?"

Jenny, Ryan, and Billy all burst out laughing. They laughed even harder when Jordan got down on his knees and sniffed.

"Yeah, it does kind of!" Jordan said, completely trashed himself.

_Oh yeah, the principal will love it when he finds his son smashed out of his mind,_ Rufus thought to himself. He rolled his eyes.

Jake burst out laughing. "Cool. My farts smell like beer!"

Jenny, Billy, and Jordan joined in on his laughter.

"All right, I've had enough." Rufus set his beer bottle down. Let the ones who brought it worry about what to do with it, he figured. He was going to head over to Lily, when he saw that Ryan was talking to her.

"Why are you just walking around the pool?" Ryan asked her.

Lily shrugged. "I'm just practicing my royal walk. I'm a queen surveying her people."

"But _you_ didn't win prom queen; Jenny did," Ryan reminded her.

"I wanted to win. If I want to be a prom queen, I'll be a prom queen!" Lily said, her semi-drunken state causing her to whine.

"You can't be impersonating a queen. It's like against the law or something," Ryan said.

Rufus rolled his eyes. He didn't know who was the most drunk out of Lily's so called friends. Nor did he know who was the dumbest. It was a pretty close race.

"So, in punishment, you have to be thrown into the pit of despair!" Ryan said. He picked Lily up in a flash, and held her over the pool.

Lily cried out. "What are you doing?" She suddenly looked panic stricken.

"I'm going to throw you into the put of despair for impersonating the queen!" Ryan said, taking her over to the deep end.

"Ryan, cut it out! I can't swim!" Lily screamed.

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, right! You expect me to believe that? A seventeen year old girl who doesn't know how to swim? Ha! You're just trying to get out of your punishment."

"Ryan, I mean it! I really can't swim! Knock it off!" Lily screamed, trying with all her might to get free.

"Sorry, but I'm not buying it, Lily!" Ryan said.

Rufus tried to get there in time, but Ryan tossed Lily into the pool seconds before he got there.

Lily screamed, and flailed around in the water, trying to stay afloat.

"You idiot!" Rufus screamed at Ryan. He pushed him aside, knocking the drunken idiot to the cement. Rufus really didn't give a damn. He hoped Ryan cracked his head open on it. He dived into the water, and quickly swam over to Lily. He grabbed her in his arms, and brought her to the stairs. He helped Lily up the stairs, and followed closely behind her.

Once they were back on solid ground, Lily burst into tears, and collapsed in Rufus' arms. "Thank you," she said. She began sobbing again.

Rufus held her tight, not even caring that she was soaking his suit. He gently stroked her hair. "Sh, you're okay now. I have you."

"Oh my gosh, Lily, are you all right?" Jenny asked, rushing over to her friend.

Lily nodded against Rufus' chest, then turned to look at her friend. "I'm okay now, thanks to Rufus."

Billy came over to them. "I'm glad you're okay, Lily. Ryan didn't mean anything by it. He was just hammered."

"It's still no excuse! That jack ass needs to learn how to hold his liquor!" Rufus snapped. He clenched his fists and glared at Ryan. Jordan was over making sure Ryan was all right. Jordan helped him up. Rufus shook his head in disgust. "I can't even go anywhere near him now, or I swear I'll kill him. He could have killed her!"

"You're over reacting. It was just a little bit of water," Jake stated.

"A little bit of water? I couldn't swim, Jake! I told him that, and he was too smashed and idiotic to listen!" Lily snapped.

"Look, I'm going to take her home now. Do you guys need a ride to the hotel?" Rufus asked.

Jenny looked at Billy, who shook his head.

"No," Billy said. "A buddy of mine is going there with his girlfriend. He said they'd give us a ride in their limo since they're going there anyway."

Rufus nodded. "All right. We'll see you guys later then."

"You going to be okay, Lily?" Jenny asked with concern.

Lily nodded, her arms still around Rufus. "I'm fine. Have fun tonight." She smiled, even though her heart wasn't in it.

Jenny nodded. "Okay, if you're sure. Call me tomorrow."

Lily nodded as well. "I will. Congratulations on being prom queen by the way."

Rufus then led Lily out of the pool room and into the hallway, then soon after out of the school and into the limo.

"It's a good thing I wasn't elected prom queen. I look like shit now," Lily said, her voice coming out tiny and pathetic sounding.

Rufus gently stroked some wet hair out of her face. "You do not! You're too beautiful to ever look like shit. I fact, it's their loss. You would have been the most beautiful prom queen they ever had, and ever _would _have."

Lily smiled. She was touched. No boy had ever said something so romantic and sweet to her before. Her eyes lowered. "And they certainly never will have a prom king as handsome and sexy as you."

Rufus smiled. "Really? You really think I'm handsome and sexy?"

"The handsomest and sexiest," Lily murmured.

Rufus' eyes lowered as well, and Lily wanted nothing more than to kiss him. So, she leaned in to kiss him.

He leaned in as well, and they were just about to kiss when the car came to an abrupt start, causing them both to jolt.

Lily silently cursed fate for interrupting yet another kiss.

The partition slowly came down. "Sorry about that. A car stopped short in front of me. Are you two all right?" The limo driver asked.

"Yes, we're fine," Rufus said, wrapping an arm protectively around Lily.

"We'll soon be there," the driver said before putting the partition back up.

Lily sighed, and rested herself against Rufus. She was so tired all the sudden. She closed her eyes and sighed again, this time in contentment. She felt so safe in Rufus' arms. Who would have thought?

"Lil, we're here."

Lily's eyes slowly fluttered open at the sound of Rufus' gentle voice.

He smiled down at her. "Do you want me to carry you in? You fell asleep."

Lily rubbed her eyes. She was sure her eyeliner must already be running due to the pool water anyway. "No, it's okay. I don't want my mother having a heart attack. Then again..." She smirked.

Rufus grinned. "You're bad! I'll walk you to the door."

The limo driver opened the door for them.

Lily thanked the driver, then let Rufus bring her to the door. Lily wanted to kiss him, but she didn't want her mother peering out at them from the window, seeing the whole thing. She quietly opened the door and peered in. It was dark except for the kitchen light being left on. Cece must have gone to bed.

Lily sighed with relief. She really didn't want her mother questioning her wet attire. She didn't feel like getting into an explanation. "Come in with me?" she asked Rufus.

Rufus nodded. "I don't have anywhere else to be except my hotel room, but that can wait."

Lily suddenly didn't want him to leave. "Stay with me tonight? Please? I just want to be held by you. I feel safe with you."

"Are you sure?" Rufus asked. There was nothing he wanted more, but he didn't want to push things.

Lily nodded.

Rufus gently rubbed her back. "You go get into something dry, and I'll go tell the driver he can go then."

"Okay. Thank you." Lily left the door open, and headed into her bedroom. She was suddenly feeling lightheaded, so she lay down on her back on her bed.

A moment later, Rufus came into the room and found her lying there, her wet dress still on. "Do you feel sick, Lil?"

"No, just tired," she said.

"Where's your nightgowns?" he asked.

"Bottom drawer on the right," she answered.

Rufus looked around until he saw the chest of drawers. He went into the bottom right drawer and pulled out an extra large grey T-shirt that had the school newspaper logo on it. He brought it over to her. "Do you need me to help you get dressed?"

She smiled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Rufus grinned. "I'm not going to lie. I really would!"

"I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back. But first, please unzip me?" Lily got up, and put her back to Rufus.

Rufus did as requested, resisting the urge to gently run his hand down her back. "There ya go."

Lily smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll be right back."

Five minutes later. Lily came back into the room.

"Do you mind if I use the bathroom now?" Rufus asked.

"Go ahead. You saw it on the way in, right?" Lily asked.

Rufus nodded. "Be right back."

Five more minutes, and Rufus came back into the bedroom. He found Lily lying in bed, waiting for him.

"Do you mind if I sleep in my boxers?" he asked her, not wanting to be presumptuous.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't expect you to sleep in your suit!" she said with a smile.

He grinned at her, then stripped down to his boxers. He climbed into bed with her, and took her into his arms.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked her.

She nodded, and snuggled closer to him. "I am thanks to you."

"I wasn't going to let you drown. I care about you far too much." He smiled at her.

She smiled too. "Rufus?"

"Hm?" he asked her.

She responded by straddling him, taking his face between her hands, and gently kissing him on the lips.

He gently held onto her sides, and moaned into the kiss.

She let her tongue slip past his lips, and was happy when his tongue met with her own.

They broke the kiss after a moment, and grinned at each other.

"I had to do that. I was getting sick of being interrupted," Lily told him.

He moaned, and kissed her again. "Me too. I'm glad we finally got to kiss."

"Well, then, maybe we should do it again," she purred.

He moaned. "Mm, maybe we should."

Rufus moved so that he was now the one on top of Lily.

Lily moaned. "Make love to me, Rufus. Please? I want you to be my first. I want to be _your_ first."

Rufus moaned again. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Lily pouted. "Why not? Don't you want me anymore?"

Rufus sighed. "Of course I want you! I really want to make love to you, Lil. You have no idea how much I want to. And we will be each other's firsts. I'll see to it. Just not now, all right? You're still a little tipsy, and that paired with your thankfulness to me for saving you is impairing your judgment. It wouldn't be right."

"It's not impairing my judgment! I really want you to make love to me Rufus. Please?" she begged.

It was taking everything in Rufus to resist her, but he did. "Lil, when the time comes, I want it to be special. Now is not the time. But we will soon. I'm not going anywhere. I live in Brooklyn, so it's not like I'm miles away from you."

"But you'll be on tour." Lily pouted some more.

"Only for a few more dates. Lincoln Hawk's solo tour isn't even in the works yet. Don't worry." He kissed her sweetly on the lips. "We'll have our time. I promise."

Lily sighed, and rested her head on his chest.

"You're not like any of the other boys I've ever met, Rufus," Lily stated. He respected her more than any other guy ever did, and she loved him for it.

Rufus kissed her. "And you're not like any of the other _girls_ I've met, Lil." He gently stroked her hair.

Lily smiled. "Is that a good thing?"

Rufus could tell from her tone, she was tired. He kissed the top of her head. "It is."

Lily smiled. "Good!"

As Lily drifted off to sleep in his arms, her head resting on his chest, Rufus couldn't help but feel like the luckiest man in the world. True, he was going to have to pay for a hotel room he never used. But, who cared? All that mattered was that the girl he was madly in love with was lying in his arms. Life didn't get any better than that.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 8: To Brown or Not to Brown?**_

"So you spent the night together? Aw! That's so sweet! Did Cece ever catch you guys?" Jenny asked.

Lily and Rufus looked at each other and smiled.

Lily looked back at Jenny, the smile still on her face. "Yes, but not in the way that you might be thinking."

"It _better_ not be in the way she is thinking." Eric said, scrunching his nose in disgust at the thought.

Jenny smirked. "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

Eric rolled his eyes. "Living with you for long enough, I know how your brain works, sadly enough."

Jenny rolled her eyes, but her grin betrayed her feigned annoyance.

"Does this story have an ending?" Chuck asked, sounding bored, even though he wasn't.

Rufus smirked. "Well, if you guys would stop interrupting us, we'd get done a whole lot sooner, now wouldn't we?"

"I didn't interrupt you; Jenny did," Chuck reminded him.

Rufus nodded. "Bottom line, y'all need to shut up and let me continue."

"Please do," Chuck said, glancing at his watch.

Rufus rolled his eyes at Chuck, then, with a hand resting on his wife's knee, he continued the story. "I woke up first. The sunlight coming through the window and resting on Lily's face was the prettiest sight I've ever seen even to this day. Well, every time I look at her face, it's the prettiest sight I've ever seen, but you know what I mean."

Lily smiled, and took her husband's face with one hand moving it to face hers so that she could kiss him on the lips. "And your face is the handsomest sight I've ever seen."

"Jenny, your face is the ugliest face I've ever seen," Eric said to Jenny.

Dan nodded. "I have to agree with that one."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "The only ugly you two ever see is when you look in the mirror."

"_Hah, Hah!_" Eric said sarcastically.

Dan rolled his eyes too, and added a little sarcasm of his own. "You should be a comedian."

Rufus loudly cleared his throat after one last kiss to his wife's lips. "Excuse me, I was telling the story! Maybe you didn't hear me when I told you all to shut up. Zip it!" He made a motion of zipping his own lips.

The kids quieted, and he continued.

"I watched her for a few minutes, then I brushed the hair out of her eyes and gently kissed her lips. She looked like an angel, the sun being her halo."

* * *

Lily moaned, her eyes slowly fluttering open as Rufus' lips touched hers. She smiled when she realized he was kissing her, and took his face between her hands, and kissed him back with passion.

Rufus intensified the kiss, his hands wandering her body. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." He grinned at her. "I'm glad you don't seem to have regretted kissing me last night. I was half afraid it was the alcohol making you kiss me."

Lily smirked. "And what would you have done if it was? You kissed me just now without even knowing how I'd feel about it."

Rufus grinned. "It was a risk I was willing to take."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and kiss me some more."

Rufus' eyes lowered. "You won't get a complaint from _me_!"

They smiled at each other, then continued kissing, their hands wandering the other's body.

Rufus moaned as he felt Lily's hands slowly start to slide down inside the back of his boxers. He quickly broke the kiss. "Mm, Lil, what are you doing?"

"What do you think? I want to make love. My mind is not clouded by alcohol. It's all out of my system by now. And, as for me being happy you saved me, I am still, but that's not the reason I want to make love with you."

Rufus smiled, but took her hand and removed it from his boxers. "Why is it you want to make love then?" he asked.

Lily brushed his ear with her lips. "Because I want you so bad, I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't have you right this very second." Her voice was a sexy purr.

Rufus moaned. If he wasn't fully awake before, he sure was now—in more ways than one. "Are you sure we're not moving kind of fast Lil? I mean, we only just kissed last night."

Lily straddled him. "I want you _now_, Rufus. I don't care if our first kiss was only last night. We're together now, and that's all that matters." She began nipping and kissing down the side of his neck.

Rufus closed his eyes. She was making it so hard to say no. He was trying to be respectful, but she was making it awfully difficult to do so.

"Please?" she asked in an innocent tone, her lips in a slight pout.

Rufus moaned again. She made it impossible to say no. "This just all seems too quick."

"Don't care," Lily said nonchalantly. She lay down on her back, and tugged at his body in a silent plea for him to get on top of her.

He sighed, his resolve rapidly fading away. He brushed his lips against her ear. "Are you sure?"

She took his face between her hands and looked him in the eyes. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

His eyes lowered. "Well, if you're sure..."

Her eyes never left his. "I am." She licked her lips.

He couldn't resist her any longer. He covered her lips with his own, and began kissing her passionately.

She moaned, and moved her hands to tangle in his hair. She then sat up and held up her arms.

Rufus pulled off her oversized T-shirt and kissed between her breasts, his hands moving to the back to find the latch of her black lace bra. He was having a little trouble getting it unhooked, so instead, he kissed down her neck, wanting to savor the moment before trying again.

Her hands tugged at his boxers. "Mm, be patient," he teased, pushing her back down on the bed, and kissing her intensely on the lips.

She moaned. "Hurry up. I want it. I want _you_." She gently bit his bottom lip, and they kissed even more intensely than they already had been.

"Lily, what would you like for breakfast, French toast, pancakes, or waffle—" Cece had opened the bedroom door without paying much attention as she spoke, but now her eyes fell upon her daughter in bed with her boyfriend, whom Cece had only just met the night before. "What the hell is going on in here?" She asked, having cut herself off upon the shock of seeing her daughter in bed with a guy whom Lily had claimed to have only met once before.

Lily jumped. "Mom! Don't you ever knock?"

"It's _my_ house, I don't have to," Cece said defiantly.

Rufus rolled off of Lily, and lay beside her instead. He pulled the covers up to their waists. Luckily for Lily, he had never gotten to getting her bra unlatched. "Mrs, Rhodes, we were just... Um..." Rufus wished he was a quick thinker, but, sadly for him, he really wasn't.

Cece crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not stupid, boy. I know what you two were 'just!' And you can call me _Miss_. Rhodes. Lily's father walked out on us a very long time ago. We don't use that scumbag's last name. We use my maiden name."

Rufus nodded. "Miss Rhodes," he corrected himself. "I apologize."

"For banging my daughter, or for calling me the wrong thing?" Cece asked, peering down at him.

Before Rufus could answer her, Lily spoke up.

"Mother, stop it! We weren't 'banging' as you call it. We haven't even had sex at all yet. We were just making out," Lily snapped.

Cece sighed. "With intent to bang I'm sure! I'm not stupid, Lily. I was a teenage girl one time too, remember. How do you think you were conceived?"

Lily scrunched her nose. "You made me when you were twenty-three," reminded her mother.

"Teens, twenties, they are all the same. No one is old enough for a mature relationship at that point. People grow up and change. Look at your father. That ass walked out on us the moment I turned thirty." She looked at Rufus. "He left me for a twenty-five year-old. People get older—even women. His answer was to just keep getting a new young lover the second his current one gets too old. He ended up dumping the twenty year old a year later when he found a twenty year old who was interested in him. That was the last I ever heard of the bastard."

"That's harsh," Rufus said, not really knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, well, you better not treat my daughter that way or there will be hell to pay, I assure you!" Cece snapped.

"Mother, please. Can you just give us some privacy?" Lily begged.

Cece glanced at her, her arms still across her chest. "And give you time to finish what you started? I think not!"

"You thought we were having sex _before_, and you weren't that intent on stopping us," Lily stated.

"Yeah, well, that was when I thought you had already done it anyway, and when you weren't going to be doing it in my house!" Cece snapped.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, mother. You already killed the mood. We just want to get dressed in peace, please."

Cece eyed her daughter and Rufus warily. She looked at Rufus. "All right, but if I hear even just one whimper or one moan, instead of dressing in peace, _you_," She pointed at Rufus. "will be _resting_ in peace!"

"Mother!" Lily complained.

Cece turned towards the door, her hands int he air. "I'm going, I'm going! I expect you both in the kitchen in five minutes."

Lily let out a frustrated cry once Cece had shut the bedroom door. "I cannot _believe_ her! **Ugh**!"

Rufus smirked. "I don't know. I find her kind of funny."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Try living with her. Her funniness would wear of _real_ fast I promise you."

Rufus smirked. "Well, I guess I had better get my suit back on. I don't think it would bode well with her if I went out there in my boxers."

"Uh, _no_." Lily agreed.

They grinned at each other, then quickly kissed before getting out of bed and dressing.

"Don't look," Lily said as she grabbed a clean pair of underwear from her drawer.

Rufus smirked. "You wanted me to make love to you, but you don't want me to watch you dressing?"

Lily shrugged, "I'm a complex person."

Rufus snickered, but turned his back anyway.

"No peaking!" Lily said as she quickly dressed.

"Party pooper," he teased.

A moment later, Lily finished dressing. "Okay, you can look now."

Rufus turned to look at her, and whistled. "Mm, you look smoking hot as usual."

Lily grinned. "Why thank you! She had chosen a pair of light blue acid-washed jeans and a floral print half shirt.

He placed his hands around her bare waist—he couldn't resist.

Lily smiled at him, and they kissed.

"It's been more almost five minutes! You better not still be half naked in bed!" came Cece's voice from the kitchen. "Or naked, because I swear I'm coming in there in two seconds!"

Lily rolled her eyes.

Rufus laughed. He nodded towards the bedroom door. "We better go before she brings the feds in."

"In this house, she _is_ the feds," Lily joked.

Rufus laughed, and they headed hand-in-hand to the kitchen.

"What took you two so long?" Cece complained from the stove. She didn't bother to look at them.

Lily rolled her eyes anyway. "I'm a girl, Mom. It takes me time to get ready."

Cece turned to face her daughter. She nodded towards Rufus. "What's his excuse? He was too much of a baby to come out here and face me without you?"

Lily sighed. "_Mom_, he had to get dressed too."

Cece glanced at Rufus disapprovingly. "In the same room as you I noticed." Her tone showed her distaste.

Rufus held up his hands. "I'm sorry, Miss Rhodes. My suit was in the room, and it didn't take me long to get it back on. I figured it would be better to dress in your daughter's room than to make you see me walk across the hall in my boxers."

Cece seemed to ponder that for a moment. "I suppose you're right," she said, peering down at him from under her nose. She turned back to the stove. "What would you like for breakfast, Lily? Waffles, pancakes, or French toast?"

"Um," Lily looked at Rufus. "What would _you_ like?"

Rufus licked his lips. "I love waffles."

"Sounds good!" Lily turned her attention back to her mother. "We'll have waffles please, mother."

Cece didn't look back. "I didn't ask Rufus what he wanted. Nor did I say he was invited to stay for breakfast."

Lily flushed with embarrassment. "Mother, stop being rude! He is our guest!"

Rufus didn't want to cause any trouble for Lily and her mother. "You know, I should be getting back to the hotel anyway. I need to shower and change. I can just get some breakfast there."

"Good idea," Cece quipped.

Rufus went to stand up. He knew when he wasn't wanted.

Lily placed her hand over his shoulder, and gently pushed him back down. "Mother, he is my boyfriend, and I say he stays."

Rufus grinned at her. "So I'm your boyfriend now?"

Lily looked him deep in the eyes. "Yes. Right?"

Rufus grinned even wider. "Of course!"

Lily grinned too.

"It's still my house, so I have the last say. I don't care if he's the pope!" Cece sighed. "But, whatever. I'm not in the mood to argue with you. Waffles it is."

Lily grinned, and gently clapped her hands.

Rufus chuckled to himself. Oh how quickly Lily had changed her tune about him. He didn't know what had changed it so quickly, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He would take it and run with it.

"Here ya go." Cece put a plate in front of Lily with one hand, and one in front of Rufus with her other hand. She then set the maple syrup bottle between the plates.

"Thank you, Miss Rhodes," Rufus said politely.

"Just call me Cece. Miss Rhodes makes me sound so old," Cece said.

Lily rolled her eyes. She got up and got the orange juice out of the fridge, and grabbed two glasses. "Why didn't you just tell him that to begin with instead of going through the whole spill about my father being a scumbag?"

Cece held her nose up again. "Everyone should know what a scumbag your father was."

Lily put the orange juice back in the fridge, then sat back down, and handed Rufus his glass.

"Thanks, Lil." Rufus kissed her cheek.

Lily turned his face to hers and kissed his lips.

"Thank God I'm going out to breakfast with Evelin, and don't have to eat here with you two," Cece grumbled.

Lily smirked. She loved annoying her mother.

Cece walked towards the hallway. "I'm going to go get ready." She turned to Rufus. "And, Rufus, don't get any ideas of getting busy with my daughter while I'm out with my friend. In fact, I'm not leaving until you leave first."

Rufus nodded. "Sure thing, Cece." He took a bite of his waffles.

Cece eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then headed into her room.

The second Cece was out of earshot, Lily turned her attention back to Rufus. "Don't listen to her. You can stay as long as you'd like."

Rufus took a sip of his orange juice before replying. "Actually, Lil, I really do have to get back to the hotel. I have a flight to catch in a few hours. The remaining three shows that Lincoln Hawk has to open up are in the West coast."

Lily pouted. "So I'm not going to see you for how long?"

"Just three days, not counting after I leave today. I promise, the day I come back, I'll come see you." Rufus grinned at her. "In fact, now that we're boyfriend and girlfriend, I think it's time we go on a proper date—just the two of us."

Lily smiled. She reached over and gently pushed some hair out of Rufus' eyes. "I'd really like that."

"I'll call you every day I'm gone, and we'll plan what we're going to do on our date." He kissed her.

Lily smiled. "Sounds good." She kissed him back.

They then finished their breakfast, both looking very much forward to their first date.

* * *

"Cece was a real bitch!" Scott stated.

The rest of the kids—including Chuck—all started laughing.

Scott blushed. "What?"

Serena smiled at her half brother. "Nothing, Scott. It's just, you seem too sweet and innocent to be calling people bitches."

Scott shrugged. "I'm not sweet and innocent _all_ the time. Naive maybe, but not sweet and innocent."

Lily smirked at him. "And there's nothing wrong if you are."

"Anyway, she has gotten better over time. But I'm still not her biggest fan, and I'm sure she's not my biggest fan either," Rufus stated.

Lily chucked. "Oh, she most definitely is not, but she's accepted you finally." She took her husband's hand in her own and gently squeezed it.

Rufus squeezed her hand back, and looked lovingly at his wife. "Do you want to tell the next part?"

Lily nodded. "Sure. I kind of have to anyway, since you bolted."

"Can you blame me?" Rufus asked.

Lily smirked. "No, I guess I can't."

They grinned at each other, then turned back to the kids.

"Mother came out shortly after we finished our breakfast. She was ready to go, but not before annoying me some more."

* * *

Cece came into the kitchen. "Lily, I forgot to tell you. I saw that you didn't send in your acceptance letter yet, so I wrote it for you on your computer while you were at the prom. Thankfully, I am able to forge your signature well. I sent it out last night. I also sent in your dorm registration."

Lily gasped. "_Mother_! I still had time to send it! I can't believe you went into my room and not only used my computer, but wrote my letter for me!"

Cece shrugged. "I pay the rent, making every room in this house mine. I believe I was also the one to buy you that computer, making that mine as well. I know you. You put things off. If I didn't write it, it never would have gotten written."

"Mother, you're making me an unwilling plagiarist!" Lily complained. She couldn't believe her mother had done that! Lily didn't even want to go to that damn college.

Cece swiped the air with her hand. "Oh, please! I'm not the only mother who has written the letter for her child, believe me. All that matters to headmasters and headmistresses is that they know if you'll be attending their school or not."

"I don't even _want_ to stay in the dorms. Jenny and I are getting an off-campus apartment," Lily informed her mother, trying her best to stay calm.

Cece laughed. "Good luck with _that_!"

Lily clenched her fists. "And why couldn't that happen?"

"You won't be able to afford it," Cece stated simply.

Lily took a deep breath and slowly let it out to try to calm herself. "Mother, we have tons of money. We're rich, remember?"

Cece shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "No, _I'm_ rich. You get a weekly allowance, which you only get when you're doing chores, which you can't do when you're not home to do them!"

Lily held her head high. "Fine! I'll get a job then."

Cece snorted. "You're not going to get a job good enough to help you pay for an apartment. New York City apartments don't come cheap, you know!"

"Jenny will pay half!" Lily insisted.

Cece threw her head back and laughed. "Jenny? Having money to buy an apartment? That is fricking hilarious!"

Lily clenched her fists and let out a frustrated cry. "I don't even want to go to that damn school anyway!"

Cece's eyes narrowed at her daughter.

Rufus cleared his throat. "Um, I'm just going to go now. I have to get ready. I'll call you when I get to the West coast, all right, Lil?"

Lily nodded. She walked over to him and pulled him in for a deep, long, passionate kiss. It was mainly because she wanted to make the kiss last her the three days they'd be apart, but also because she wanted to tick her mother off.

When she broke the kiss, Rufus licked his lips and smiled. "Mm, I'm counting the days until I'm back."

Lily grinned. "Me too."

They kissed once more, then Lily walked Rufus to the door.

"Thanks for breakfast, Cece. It was really nice meeting you," Rufus called out to Cece.

Cece nodded at him, and let out a grunt in response.

"Don't forget to call me," Lily ordered.

Rufus took her face between his hands, and gently kissed her. "I won't forget. I promise."

They kissed again. "See you soon!" Rufus said as he exited the apartment.

"Not soon enough," Lily said. She waved, then shut the door, and headed back into the kitchen.

"You're going to Brown," Cece stated.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Mother."

"You're going, or you're out of the house," Cece stated. "For good!"

"Yeah, well, that sounds pretty darn good to me!" Lily snapped.

"Me too! I have to meet Evelin. Just know you're going to Brown. You have no choice!" Cece snapped.

Lily narrowed her eyes at her mother. "I _always_ have a choice, Mother."

Cece shot her daughter a look to kill, then left the apartment without a word—just a hard slam of the door.

Lily let out a loud, frustrated scream, her fists clenched so hard she felt the pain from her nails digging into her palms. She released her grip, then ran into her bedroom, slammed the door behind her, and threw herself down onto her stomach on her bed, another frustrated scream falling from her lips.

Her mother was _so_ not going to tell her what to do! If she had to move out, then so be it. If she _did_ decide to go to Brown, it would be because _she_ wanted to; not because Cece wanted her to.

_Nobody_ told Lily Rhodes what to do. _Nobody_!

She picked up her phone, and dialed Jenny's number. She needed someone to vent to before she went insane. Then again, having a mother like Cece, maybe going insane was inevitable.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 9: Love at Last**_

"Thank God you're here. I hate being in that house anymore. You and I have _got_ to get our own apartment—and fast at that!" Lily griped as she hopped into Jenny's convertible.

Jenny ran her fingers through her strawberry blonde curls with one hand, as she pulled out onto the street with the other. "She's still giving you the silent treatment?"

Lily looked out the window. "No, but I wish she was. Now she keeps saying things like, 'We're going to have to get you some more sensible clothes for college,' and 'I hope you have a good roommate. The last thing you need is another party girl to be a bad influence on you.' I just learned to go along with it. Letting her believe she is getting her own way is the only way to shut her up."

Jenny laughed. "That's a good idea. Though, we both have to get jobs if we're going to get our own apartment. Maybe you could get a job at the paper or with a news crew? You have enough experience."

Lily nodded. "That's true. Maybe. Do they hire people who don't have journalism degrees?"

Jenny shrugged. "I don't know. If you show them your work and how good it is, I'm sure they'd hire you even without a degree."

Lily looked at her. "What do _you_ want to do?"

Jenny glanced in the rearview mirror. "I was thinking I could get a job at the mall, or maybe as a secretary somewhere until I have enough money to pay for beauty school. There's a lot of money in cosmetology, you know."

Lily nodded. "That's a good idea!" She nodded towards Jenny's hair. "I like the new shade. Did you dye it yourself?"

Jenny nodded. "Yes, M'am!" She touched her hair again. "So I did a good job?"

"It looks amazing!" Lily confirmed. "All the more reason you should get into cosmetology."

Jenny grinned. "So, tell me about what happened after you and Rufus left the prom. You said he spend the night?"

Lily nodded, a smile instantly forming on her lips.

Jenny raised an eyebrow and looked at her friend. They were stopped at a light. "And nothing happened?"

Lily shook her head. "I _wanted_ something to happen, but he didn't want to take advantage of me. I was still a little drunk, and I was also grateful that he had saved me from drowning."

Jenny smiled, then turned her eyes back to the road, and stepped on the gas since the light had just turned green. "Aw! He's such a gentleman. Billy didn't care that I was drunk. Then again, he was drunk too."

"Do you regret sleeping with him?" Lily asked.

Jenny smirked. "No way! That boy is _amazing_ in bed—even drunk. But we're not talking about Billy and me. We're talking about you and Rufus. What changed your mind about him anyway?"

Lily sighed. "I don't know. I guess it was when I was in the bathroom and overheard Amy and Emily saying how hot he is, and how they wouldn't mind stealing him from me. Then, I think it was Amy who said something—I don't even remember what—that made me realize I was being a jerk to Rufus when he was being nothing but nice to me. So, I apologized to him. I didn't want any undeserving girl to have him. He's _mine_! So, I apologized for our fight, as did he. Then we danced, and I started to see how charming he is. Then, when he was so protective of me and saved me in the pool, I knew I wanted him as much as he wanted me."

Jenny smiled. "Aw! That is the sweetest thing I ever heard."

"We were going to make love in the morning. I had my shirt off and everything. But then my stupid mother had to come in and lecture us about having sex!" Lily crossed her arms over her chest in disgust at the memory.

Jenny laughed. "No way. She lectured you on having sex?"

Lily nodded. "I'm afraid so! She then went on to tell Rufus about my dad, and how he just wanted to bang girls in their twenties, and how, once they got older, he moved onto someone else in her twenties. I have no idea what that had to do with anything."

Jenny made a face. "Ouch! Maybe next time you shouldn't try it when your mother is home."

Lily glanced at her "Ya _think_? It was my own fault. I should have known my mother wouldn't be sleeping comfortably in her bed when she could be spending that time being nosy."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you two will find some time to do it once he gets back," Jenny stated.

Lily nodded again. "I _know_ we will. We're going to have our first date when he gets back. I plan on losing it to him then. It will be so wonderful to finally not be a virgin anymore."

Jenny smiled. "And it will be with someone you love and with someone who loves you in return. I hate to say it, but you wouldn't have gotten that with Trent."

Lily sighed. "I know."

Shortly after, they arrived at the mall. Lily loved shopping. It took the stress out of a lot of things.

"You know what you need to get while we're here, don't you?" Jenny asked after she parked and they were headed into the mall.

Lily smirked. "What?"

"Something sexy to wear for your first date with Rufus of course! And I don't just mean overtop. You need to find something sexy to wear underneath as well. You need something to make him crazy with lust," Jenny said simply

Lily licked her lips. "Why do you think I asked you to go shopping?"

Jenny grinned at her. "I guess great minds really do think alike!"

Lily grinned back at her. "I guess _so_!"

They both laughed.

"Well, I suppose sense I'm here, I could pick up something sexy to wear for Billy as well. He's invited me to go to his parents' cottage in New Jersey—Ocean City to be exact. His parents will be in Orlando for a week, so we'll have the place all to ourselves." She raised her eyebrows up and down to silently let her friend know exactly what she and Billy planned on doing while they were there.

"Oo, sounds fun! When is _this_ going to be?" Lily asked. They stopped outside of a new store called Lace & Lovin.' She decided to go in. She might as well do as Jenny suggested and buy something sexy, she figured. Not that she planned on keeping it on for long. She shivered with excitement at the thought.

"Oo, good choice!" Jenny said. She immediately began touching the lingerie pieces that she saw and liked, getting a feel for the material.

"I like this one," Lily said, holding up a black lace nightgown for Jenny's inspection.

Jenny scrunched her nose. "It looks like something your grandmother would have bought for you."

Lily scrunched her nose as well. "My grandmother would have bought me no such thing!"

Jenny held up her hands. "Okay, maybe not, but still. You aren't very good at seducing a man, are you?"

Lily narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Excuse me, I may still be a virgin, but I do know how to seduce a man, thank you very much!"

Jenny looked at a blue teddy that looked like it would barely cover one breast let alone both breasts and her lower region.

"Okay, that's just trampy," Lily said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're such a prude!" Jenny said.

Lily held her head high, her arms still crossed over her chest. "Thats only what tramps call non trampy people to try to make themselves feel better."

Jenny gasped. "Girl, I _know_ you didn't just call me a tramp!"

Lily's expression remained serious. "If the shoe fits!"

"Prude!" Jenny shot back.

They both kept an angry look on their face for just a moment more before they both burst into laughter.

"All right, all right. Maybe I _could_ show a little bit more skin. I just don't want to be _too_ over the top since it's my first time. I want it to be a little more romantic. After that, well, then I'll feel free to be a little more wild," Lily explained.

Jenny sighed. "And I suppose I do show a little too much skin usually."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You _think_?"

"Ha ha," Jenny said sarcastically.

"I have an idea. "Why don't I pick something out for you, and you pick something out for me?" Lily suggested.

Jenny crossed her arms over her chest and pondered that for a moment, then slightly nodded. "I suppose that might be interesting. But don't tone it down _too_ much. I don't want to bore Billy."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't think any kind of lingerie would bore a guy, but fine. The same goes for you, only instead of me not wanting it to be too boring, I don't want it to be too risqué, all right?"

Jenny nodded. "It's a deal!"

They shook on it, and then they were off, agreeing to meet in ten minutes in front of the store. They would pay for the other's lingerie. The other was not allowed to see said lingerie until it was pid for so that neither one of them could refuse to get it.

Lily searched the racks, hoping she didn't regret this decision. She was all for dressing sexy, but she liked to leave something to the imagination. Jenny, on the other hand, liked to leave _nothing_ to the imagination.

She searched for five minutes before finding the perfect piece of lingerie for Jenny. It was a black and hot pink teddy that covered the breasts, then had one strip of material down the stomach that connected to a ruffled skirt that went to the top of the thighs; just covering the butt. She knew Jenny would love it.

It was only twenty dollars. The material may not have been the best quality, but it wasn't bad either. It seemed to be made of a faux satin. Lily really didn't expect anything more from an indoor mall anyway.

She bought it, then waited for Jenny, who finally showed up right on time.

Jenny grinned. "Show me."

Lily did as told.

Jenny quietly fake screamed. "I _love_ it! You know my style so well! And it's not too '_trampy_' as you would put it either."

Lily smirked. "I'm glad you liked it. Now, show me mine." She was almost afraid to see. She winced.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "What are you wincing for? You haven't even seen it yet. Just trust me!"

Lily kept the wince on her face nonetheless.

Jenny rolled her eyes, and pulled the lingerie out of the bag, and held it up for Lily to see.

When Lily saw it, it took her a second to realize it wasn't horrible. Slowly she felt the wince on her face turn to a grin. "It's amazing! Sexy, yet, not too over the top or '_prudish_' as you would call it."

Jenny grinned. "See? You need to _trust_ your best friend. I have good taste!"

Lily grinned too. "Indeed you do. I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

Jenny was still grinning. "Apology accepted!"

They took each other's bag so that they were now carrying their own lingerie.

"Billy's going to have that off you almost as soon as he sees you in it, you know," Lily said to Jenny as they exited the store.

Jenny smiled, looking off into space. "I know. After he takes a second to admire me in it of course." She looked at Lily. "And Rufus is practically going to rip that off you, after he admires you in it for all of three seconds—if even that!"

Lily licked her lips at the thought. "I sure hope so."

"Honey, trust me—he will," Jenny insisted.

Again, Lily licked her lips, this time while peering inside her bag. Looking at it again, she had to admit, Jenny may just be right! She grinned at the thought.

* * *

The three days had finally passed, and Lily could hardly wait to see Rufus! They planned on meeting up at his hotel room. He was staying in a hotel until he could get his apartment back. He had given it up while he was on tour to save money. No use paying for the months he wasn't using it, he figured.

Anyway, Lily was packed and ready to go. She planned on staying the night whether her mother approved or not. After all, tonight was going to be her big night. She was _not_ going to let her mother ruin it for her.

She carried her overnight bag out into the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Cece asked as she stood at the stove, stirring the night's dinner.

"Over to Jenny's. She needs help studying for her algebra final. She said I might as well sleep over since it's a Saturday anyway." Lily had needed to lie to her mother so much in the past that she had become an expert at it.

"Well, you're staying for dinner at least. I made stew and garlic bread," Cece said, no hint of non belief in her voice.

"Mom, I'm really not hungry." Lily knew that Rufus had something special planned for her for dinner. She didn't want to fill up on stew and garlic bread first.

"Well, you're going to eat anyway! I went through all this trouble. The least you can do is have dinner with me," Cece grumbled.

Lily sighed, and set her bag aside. So badly, she wanted to say, "_I didn't _ask_ you to make dinner for me, Mother." _But, she knew that that would only make her mother have a cow and possibly prohibit her from going anywhere tonight. She figured going along with her mother would be a better option than having to go through the trouble of sneaking out of the house. "All right, let's eat then."

Cece nodded. "Set the table please."

Lily rolled her eyes behind her mother's back, but did as told.

Finally, they sat down together and had their dinner.

Lily only had one slice of garlic bread, and a very small bowl of stew.

Cece raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't eat very much."

Lily got up and brought her empty dishes to the dishwasher. "I told you, Mother, I'm not very hungry." She closed the dishwasher door, and the headed over to her mother. She kissed her cheek. "Thank you though. It was really good!"

Cece smiled. "You're welcome. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Lily gave her mother a hug, then grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

"Have fun at Jenny's!" Cece called out.

"Thanks, Mom. I will." As Lily left, she felt bad for lying to her mother. It had to be done though. She highly doubted her mother would approve of her night with Rufus. Cece didn't even _like_ Rufus that much.

Lily hoisted her bag over her shoulder, then headed to the subway. Rufus' hotel was only a few blocks away. It wouldn't be long now. She smiled to herself. She could hardly wait for tonight!

* * *

"I don't think I'm going to like the part that comes next," Dan said, already looking a little disgusted.

Serena crinkled her nose. "I'm not sure either."

Eric bit his lip; uncomfortable. "Please don't go into too much detail if you guys plan on doing what Lily planned on you doing. In fact, no details at all are necessary."

Lily smirked. "Don't worry. We won't go into detail."

Rufus shrugged. "I don't know. They're all adults. Well, almost an adult in Jenny's case. I think they can handle it."

"Dad, come on!" Dan complained.

Rufus laughed. "What? It's not like you don't know how you were conceived. It's also not like you and Serena, and even you and Vanessa haven't done it."

"Okay, just stop. Please. I'm begging you," Dan said, glaring at his father.

Lily smirked. She latched onto her husband's arm. "Honey, give him a break."

Rufus looked at her. "What?" he asked with a laugh. "Okay, it's my turn to take over the story."

"Aw, here we go!" Dan complained.

The others groaned their disapproval.

Rufus grinned, and ignored his sons', daughter's and step kids' protests. "I wanted the day to be perfect. I had gotten Jerry's opinion on what would look good. Jerry may have been as straight as they came, but he was a metrosexual. He knew fashion. He chose a pair of Calvin Klein jeans and a back Calvin Klein shirt with dark blue pinstripes for me to wear. I wore my new Calvin Klein cologne, going with the theme. For shoes, I wore black sandals. Jerry told me I looked hot, and he'd totally do me if he weren't straight. If I didn't know Jerry and his sense of humor so well, I would have been worried."

* * *

There was a knock on the door, and Rufus ran to the door. Swinging it open. His heart pounded in his chest when he saw Lily. Her hair was up in a high ponytail with a red scrunchie. She wore a black romper, the shorts of it going to her mid thigh. She had on a red belt and a pair of red heeled boots that went to her knees. Her lips were painted a crimson red, as were her nails.

She grinned. "Well, don't you look handsome!"

He grinned too. "And don't you look incredibly sexy."

She batted her eyelashes at him, smiling innocently. "You think so?"

He took her hand and pulled her into his room. "Come here."

He shut the door behind them, then took her bag off her shoulder and slid it down to the floor. Finally, he pulled her body close to his, took her face between his hands, and kissed her passionately.

She smiled against his lips, then took his face between her hands, and kissed him back with the same amount of passion.

He moaned as she started pulling him towards the bed with her. "Mm, Lil not yet. I've made dinner reservations."

She moaned in disapproval. "Can't you postpone them? I want you _now_." She kissed him more intensely.

Rufus moaned. So badly he wanted to say to heck with dinner and take her right then and there. But he was hungry, and he didn't want her to be hungry either. He nodded towards the door. "Come on! Let's have our date. Then we can end it any way we want." He kissed her gently, never wanting to stop.

She closed her eyes and smiled, taking in his wonderful scent. "All right." Come to think of it, it _would_ be rather nice to have an actual date with him before she lost her virginity to him. Of course the latter was going to be the best part of the date.

He grinned. "Good!" He kissed her again, then released her face from his hands. "I promise you we can do exactly what you have in mind come the end of our date."

Lily smiled slyly at him. "What is it exactly that you think I want to do at the end of our date?"

Rufus blushed. "You know very well what."

Lily shook her head, trying to look and sound as innocent as possible. "No, I don't. I wouldn't have asked if I had any idea."

Rufus studied her face as if trying to see if she was playing him or not. He decided she was, and that he was going to play right back with her. He put on his own serious expression, and kept his tone serious as well. "I figured you wanted to have a foursome with Jenny and Billy. I already talked to Billy about it, and he's all for it!"

A smile cracked over Lily's face, and she burst into laughter. "Shut up!"

Rufus laughed too, and pulled her close again, his hands around her waist. He kissed her neck. "Or, if you'd rather, it can be just you and me."

Lily closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his lips on her neck. "Oh, I'd definitely rather."

She opened her eyes and grinned when she saw him grinning at her.

"Well, then! Let's go so that we can get to the best part of the date, shall we?" He took her hand in his own.

She nodded. "Sounds good to me! Where are we going?"

"I got us in at that new place everyone's dying to get into—Chef Romeo's," Rufus answered as they headed out the door, the door shutting behind them on its own.

Lily smiled. "Really? How did you get us in there?"

Rufus shrugged. "It isn't to hard once the owner finds out you opened for Nine Inch Nails."

Lily grinned. "Abusing your power, are you?"

Rufus nodded. "Only when I need to."

Lily shook her head, the grin still on her face. "I like it!"

They both laughed, then got into the elevator, and headed down to the lobby, still hand-in-hand.

* * *

"You're such a gentleman," Lily said with a smile as Rufus held out her chair for her.

"I would never be anything else around you, Lil," Rufus said, pushing her seat in once she sat down. He sat down in his own seat across from her.

She smirked. "Well, I wouldn't expect you to be a gentleman _all_ the time, if you catch my drift."

He smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I know when to be a gentleman, and when to simply be a man."

She licked her lips. "I'm glad to hear that."

The host looked a little uncomfortable as he handed them their menus and recited the specials to them.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked them.

"I'll have a red wine, please," Lily ordered.

"Do you have any ID, M'am?" the host asked.

Rufus grinned at Lily, his eyes twinkling as he waited for Lily to respond to that.

She sighed. "I do have one, but not one that is going to get me that drink."

The host smiled weakly. "Perhaps a soft drink instead, or an iced tea? We have a wonderful new iced tea flavored with blueberries."

Lily nodded. "What the hell, why not? I'll try that."

The host nodded. "Very well." He turned to Rufus. "And you, Sir?"

"I'll try what she's having," Rufus answered.

The waiter nodded. "Your waiter will be over in just a moment with your drinks." He gave a slight bow, then left their table to put their drink order in, and sit the next couple.

"Not a word," Lily said to Rufus as she looked at her menu.

Rufus laughed. "What? I wasn't going to say anything."

"Sure you weren't," Lily said, not buying it at all.

"Actually, I was rather surprised. "You look old to me," Rufus said simply.

Lily peered over her menu at him. "_Old_? Rufus Humphrey, don't you know never to tell a woman—especially when said woman is your date—that she looks old?"

"I thought that was fat," Rufus said.

Lily glared at him. "That too."

Rufus held up his hands in defense. "Relax! I only meant, you look mature enough to drink. I'm surprised you got carded, because you certainly don't look like a little kid to me. You look like an incredibly sexy woman."

Lilly put down her menu, and grinned at him. "Good save, Humphrey."

Rufus shrugged. "I mean it."

Lily smiled at him, and then went back to examining her menu.

Rufus smiled too, and looked at his own menu.

Five minutes later, they had received their drinks and given their food orders.

Once the waiter had gone, Rufus took Lily's hands in his from across the table. "You know, you really do look beautiful tonight. So incredibly sexy. I can't wait to take you back to the hotel and _show_ you how beautiful and sexy you are."

Lily smiled, a slight blush appearing over her cheeks. "That makes two of us. Only, for me, I want to show _you_ how incredibly handsome and sexy you are."

He licked his lips, his eyes darkening a little at the thought of getting Lily home in bed. He suddenly wished he had just done as Lily had requested earlier and skipped dinner all together. Oh well. They were there now, so they might as well enjoy their first date, he figured.

* * *

"So, let me get to know more about you. We haven't even talked about, well, anything most people ask about the other when they first start dating," Rufus said once their food arrived.

Lily smiled up at him. "Like what?"

"Well, let's start with the most popular. What's your favorite color?" Rufus took a sip of his iced tea, which he found to be really great.

Lily grinned. "Well, I'd have to say it's red or black. But I also like purple and blue."

Rufus half smiled. "I would have thought you liked pink, what with that pretty pink dress you wore to prom."

"Well, Jenny's favorite color is pink. She's the one that picked it out for me," Lily explained. She took a sip of her iced tea. She also found it quite good.

Rufus took a bite of his spaghetti. "Well, she's got great taste."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?"

Rufus swallowed what was in his mouth. He nodded. "She did when I was little. She died when I was fifteen. She and my father got into a fatal car crash. My mother died on impact, and my father died on the way to the hospital. I lived with my grandparents until I was seventeen and old enough to get a place of my own. They got custody of me, but I was able to get emancipated from them. It was nothing personal, and there were no hard feelings. I just felt like it was time I learned to survive on my own. After all, my grandparents are old, and won't be around forever."

Lily looked down at the table. "Wow. It kind of makes me feel guilty for ever complaining about my mother. I'm actually lucky I still have her, no matter how annoying she is."

Rufus smiled at Lily, and took her hand in his from across the table. "Don't worry. It's normal for _all_ teenagers to get annoyed with their parents. Even I did when they were alive. Besides, with a mother like Cece, I can't blame you one bit!"

Lily couldn't help but smirk at this one. "She's not _that_ bad. But, I'm glad you can understand how I feel."

They grinned at each other.

Rufus nodded at her, and went back to eating. This time he swallowed before speaking. "All right, now ask _me_ something. I know all about your father, thanks to your lovely mother."

Lily smirked at that last part.

"I just told you about my parents, _and_ I asked you what your favorite color is, so, ask me something about myself," Rufus ordered.

Lily thought about it for a moment. "All right. What is your favorite band of all time?"

Rufus grinned. "That's easy! I love The Rolling Stones. You?"

Lily nodded her approval. "Good choice! I _did_ like Nine Inch Nails, but now I love this other band, you might of heard of them, they're new. They're called Lincoln Hawk. The lead singer is so incredibly sexy. I am just _aching_ to get him into bed." She peered up at Rufus from underneath her eyelashes, and grinned when she saw him looking at her with a lustful look on his face.

"Hurry up and eat your food so I can get you back to the hotel," he said.

Lily took a bite of her antipasto salad, smiling smugly at Rufus as she did so. She knew that would get him.

* * *

Dinner had been great. They really got to talk to each other and get to know the other better. For dessert, they opted to split the chocolate cake. Lily still wasn't too hungry since she had had dinner with her mother beforehand. As for Rufus, well, he was just in a hurry to get Lily back to the hotel. He figured them splitting a slice would be faster than having their own slices.

After dessert, they took the subway, then had to walk just a little bit before they finally got back to the hotel.

As much of a hurry as they were in, they both enjoyed holding hands and going for a walk in the moonlight on the way to the hotel.

When they finally got to the room, Rufus opened the door, and let Lily walk in ahead of him. He then shut and locked the door behind them.

"Do you mind if I use the bathroom?" Lily asked him.

Rufus shook his head. "Not at all! My hotel room is yours." He grinned at her and winked.

She smiled at him and winked back, then grabbed her bag, and headed into the bathroom.

While Lily was in the bathroom, Rufus made a quick work of the room. He set a few candles around, and lit them. Then, he spread red rose petals from the outside of the bathroom door, leading to the bed. He spread some more petals along the top of the bed. Finally, he put on a love ballad CD on low, and turned off the lights.

He examined the room. It was perfect.

He then stripped down to his boxers, and climbed into bed.

A moment later, Lily came into the room. She smiled when she saw the rose petals, and moments later, saw the candles and heard the music.

"Rufus, did _you_ do this?" she asked.

Rufus smirked. "No, Trent came in and did it for us to make up for being such a jerk before."

Lily stuck her tongue out at him. "Smart ass!"

He grinned, then, when he really took in what she was wearing, licked his lips. "You look so incredibly sexy."

Lily smiled shyly. "Thank you."

Rufus got out of bed, and walked to her. He placed his hands around her waist and kissed her deeply. "You're so beautiful." He nuzzled his nose against her neck, taking in the sweet scent of her perfume. She was wearing a lace teddy that was black and almost completely see-thru. It was romper style, ending at the very top of her thighs. It was held up by a strap around the back of her neck. It was incredibly low-cut, and barely covered her breasts. In fact, the inner sides of her breasts were exposed, since it was cut to just a few inches above her belly button.

She rested her forehead against his and smiled. "So what are you going to do about it?"

He decided it would be better to show her with actions than it would be with words. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, gently laying her down on her back. He got into bed with her, and pulled the covers overtop of them.

Lily wrapped him in her arms and began kissing him passionately. She broke a kiss, and gently stroked his hair out of his eyes. "You're so handsome, and so good to me. I don't think I deserve someone as wonderful as you."

Rufus shook his head. "_I'm_ the one who doesn't deserve _you_."

"I love you." It was the first time she had said it to him, but Lily felt that now was the time to say it. If they were going to make love, it needed to be said first.

Rufus gently stroked her cheek, feeling his heart swell with more love for her than he even knew his heart could hold. "I love you too, Lil. I have from the moment I first laid eyes on you when you were taking pictures in the front row."

Lily grinned. "It took me a little longer than that. I must have been blind. Either that or stupid."

Rufus kissed her. "You're not blind, and you're certainly not stupid! You're the smartest girl I know." He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then her neck.

Lily closed her eyes, her fingers gently digging into his back.

"What matters is that you love me now," he continued.

Lily took his face between her hands and looked him in the eyes. "I do."

Rufus felt his eyes lower with love for the beauty that was below him. He had no idea how he had gotten to be so lucky to land a girl like Lily. All he knew was that he would forever be grateful to God for her. He kissed her lips, his hands roaming down her body. She clearly wasn't wearing a bra underneath the teddy, so he was glad he didn't have to worry about getting it undone this time.

Lily helped him get the teddy off, as well as his boxers, and soon, his boxers and her teddy were both on the floor, leaving them both naked in each other's arms.

"You are even more beautiful than I ever dreamed," Rufus said, kissing down her chest, and over her breasts.

Lily moaned. She had one hand on the back of his neck, and one hand in his hair. "Make love to me now, Rufus, please?"

He looked her in the eyes, hoping to show her in his eyes how much he loved her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I've never been more sure."

He kissed her passionately, wanting any way he could to show her how much he loved her. Now that he knew she was sure, he wanted to show her in the best way he knew how. "I'll go slow," he whispered.

She nodded, and linked her legs gently around his waist. She wrapped both arms around him now, her fingers gently digging into his back.

He was so nervous. He didn't want to hurt her.

She kissed his lips. "Please?" she begged in a small voice.

He couldn't say no to her. Not ever. He kissed her lips, then slowly entered her, wanting nothing more than to show her all the love for her he felt in his heart.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 10: Gonna Stick With You**_

"All right, I'll stop you right now. It's all ready far too much information," Dan stated.

Eric nodded. "I'm going to have to go along with Dan on this one. You're reminding me of what I had to hear in my bedroom that one time, and I really don't care to relive that moment, thank you very much!"

Chuck smirked. "I don't know. I find it kind of hot."

Rufus grinned, and raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "Not bad, huh?"

"Yeah, well, Chuck's vote doesn't count because he is adopted. You're not really his mother, Mom, and Rufus, he has no relation to you." Serena turned to Chuck. "Not that you're not considered part of the family, but..."

Chuck nodded at her. "It's all right. I know what you mean."

"As much as this grosses me out to ask... Was that when you conceived me?" Scott asked. "I didn't hear anything about protection."

Jenny crinkled her nose. "Does it really matter?"

Scott glanced at her. "I'm curious!"

Lily smiled. "I was on birth control to keep my skin clear. I got to finally use it for two purposes instead of the one. I had discussed that with your father at dinner."

Jenny looked at her stepmother. "Lily, why don't _you_ tell the story now. I don 't trust my dad to keep it clean and un-nauseating."

Lily smiled, and gently rubbed her husband's knee. "Good idea."

Rufus pouted. "You guys are no fun at all!"

"_I_ would have been up for your version of the story," Chuck reminded him.

"Except for Chuck," Rufus then added.

Chuck slightly nodded, and grinned.

Lily sighed. "All right! Back to the story. Being intimate with Rufus was even better than I ever dreamed it would be. I was so in love with him before we made love, and I was even more in love with him after we did, if that were possible. My heart was so filed with love for him, I thought it would surely burst."

Jenny smiled, and rested her head on Scott's shoulder.

Scott smiled, and placed his arm around his half sister.

Lily smiled at this, then continued on with the story.

* * *

"Are you okay? You don't regret making love, do you?" Rufus asked with worry after he and Lily had made love. He gently stroked some hair out of Lily's eyes.

Lily smiled, and did the same to him. "Are you kidding me? That was incredible! _You_ were incredible. I love you so much!" She kissed him.

Rufus moaned, and kissed her back for a moment. He broke the kiss. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Lily shook her head. "Not at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. You made me feel so good." She kissed him again. "Better than I've ever felt. How about you? Was I good?"

Lily suddenly felt nervous. Making love with Rufus had felt incredible to her. Sure it was slightly uncomfortable at first, nothing she'd call painful; just awkward. But it quickly changed to pleasure, and the pleasure far outweighed any discomfort. She had never felt such pleasure in her life! She didn't even know it was possible to feel that good. But what if he didn't feel the same? What if she was bad in bed? She had heard of guys breaking up with girls because they weren't good in bed. She couldn't stand to lose Rufus—especially not now. Not now that they had consummated their love in the most intimate way one could.

Rufus kissed her neck. "You." He kissed her lips. "Were so incredible. I don't think you can even fathom how much love I have in my heart for you right now."

Lily smiled, and took his face between her hands. "If it's half as much as I love you, I know it must be a whole lot." She grinned at him.

He grinned back at her. "It is—and then some!" His eyes lowered, and he kissed her lips again.

Lily closed her eyes and kissed him back, the passion of their kiss rapidly intensifying.

Rufus moaned, his hands roaming over her breasts. He gently sucked on her right earlobe. "Want more?"

She latched her legs around his waist, pulled him closer, and kissed him hard in response. "Does that answer your question?" she asked with a grin.

Rufus grinned. He wrapped his arms around her and slowly entered her again.

Lily moaned at the sudden pleasure. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, gently biting her bottom lip. "This time, there was no awkward feeling; it went straight to pleasure. If it felt better every time they made love, she never wanted to leave the bedroom. She couldn't help but grin at this. She didn't think Rufus would have a problem with that.

"Does that answer _your_ question?" Rufus asked.

Lily opened her eyes, and focused her attention back on him. "Huh?" She suddenly couldn't remember what they had been talking about before he begun to make love to her again.

He grinned. "You asked if your actions answered my question about wanting more, and I'm answering you with _my_ actions."

Lily smiled; remembering now. "Oh yeah. Mm... I don't know. I think I need more of this for me to really understand your answer." Her smile turned to a wide grin.

Rufus grinned too. "Mm, that's totally not going to be a problem."

Lily's eyes darkened with desire. "Good."

Rufus held her closer, then began to make love to her.

Lily moaned, clinging to Rufus; her fingers digging into his back. She kissed his bare shoulder. He felt so good. She couldn't get enough of him.

"I love you," Rufus whispered in her ear as he continued making love to her.

Lily moved her body to match with his thrusts. She wanted to make him feel as good as he was making _her_ feel. "I love you too." She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him. "So much."

His eyes lowered, and they kissed some more, both moaning into the kiss as their pleasure intensified.

* * *

"Mom!" Serena and Eric both complained at the same time Dan, Jenny, and Scott all said, "Lily!"

Lily blushed. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away. I'll keep it clean. I promise."

Chuck smirked; looking very much like he was enjoying this, which he most likely was. "It's a little late for that."

Rufus grinned at his wife. "You're making me want to do an encore presentation!"

The kids, minus Chuck, all complained at this.

Lily smirked, and playfully pushed her husband. "Behave." She turned back to the kids. "Sorry. Keeping it clean!"

* * *

Lily smiled, her head resting on Rufus' chest once they had finished their lovemaking.

Rufus gently stroked her back, and kissed the top of her head. "Cece would probably have a heart attack if she knew what we just did."

Lily smirked. "In that case, maybe we should call her up and tell her."

Rufus laughed. "You're so bad!"

"If I had my camera with me, we could even take pictures to develop and show her," Lily continued to joke.

Rufus snorted. "Yeah, we could have the bellhop take the pictures. I'm sure he'd get a thrill out of _that_!"

Lily smiled, and rested her hand over Rufus' chest. "Yeah, but you're the only one who can see me naked."

Rufus kissed her. "I better be!"

She grinned. "Don't worry—you are."

They kissed again.

"Making love with you surpassed all my dreams," Rufus told her, his eyes lowered as he gently stroked her hair.

She grinned at him. "Mine too."

They kissed some more, then just rested in each other's arms, soon drifting off to sleep.

"Lil, wake up!"

Lily slowly opened her eyes when she heard Rufus' voice, and felt him gently shaking her. "Hm? What's wrong?"

Rufus smiled down at her. "Nothing, Beautiful. Quite the contrary!"

Lily sat up a bit, pulling the covers over her chest, though she didn't know why, for Rufus had already seen everything there was to see. She smiled at the thought. "What is it then?"

Rufus smiled at her. "I just got a call from that record producer I told you about. You know, the one who wants to sign Lincoln Hawk?"

Lily nodded.

Rufus continued. "Well, not only does he want to meet with the band and I tomorrow to sign us, but he wants to set up a twenty-city summer tour! It's in the works as we speak!"

Lily grinned, and put her hands together. "Oh my gosh, that's great news! Congratulations, My Darling." She smiled at him, then wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately.

He moaned, and kissed her back. "Mm, thanks, Babe." He broke the kiss. "Do you mind if I call the rest of the band and tell them quick?"

Lily shook her head. "Not at all. I think I'm going to take a shower anyway."

He nodded, then quickly kissed her lips, his hand gently resting on her bare back. "I won't be long."

He then left the room, and went into the hallway to make his calls.

Lily stripped off her clothes and grabbed some clean undergarments before heading into the bathroom. She shut the door and turned the water on as warm as she could stand it. She stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain shut. Then, she closed her eyes and let the water rush over her face. It was so nice and relaxing. She just enjoyed the water for a moment before washing up.

She had just finished washing when she heard the curtain being pulled back.

She turned her head, and smiled when she saw Rufus standing there, wearing nothing but his birthday suit. And it wasn't even his birthday. She smirked.

"Need someone to wash your back?" he asked with a grin.

"Sure," she said, the smile still on her face.

Rufus climbed into the shower, and pulled the curtain closed behind them.

He took the bar of sop, and gently ran it all over her back. Then, he kissed down the side of her neck.

She closed her eyes, and moved her head to the side, giving him more access. "Mm..."

He set the soap down, then gently pushed her back to the wall.

She pulled him close, and they began kissing passionately.

Soon, she had her legs wrapped around his waist, and he was making love to her, half holding her up, half letting the wall support her.

No words were needed. The only sounds that filled the room were their moans.

Afterwards, they kissed for a few moments, still no words.

Rufus rested his forehead against Lily's and smiled at her. "Sorry I made you dirty again."

Lily grinned. "That's okay. I love getting dirty with you."

They both laughed, and Rufus gently set Lily back down.

"So, how did your band mates take the news?" Lily asked as she shut the shower water off.

"They were thrilled! This is the break we've been waiting for," Rufus said, helping her out of the shower.

"I'm so happy for you guys! You deserve it," Lily said as she put on her underwear and bra. "Can I borrow one of your shirts to wear to bed?" she then asked.

Rufus smiled. "Of course!"

They left the bathroom after shutting off the lights.

Rufus went into his drawer and got out a button down baseball shirt for her to wear.

Lily put it on, and he helped her button it.

Rufus licked his lips was he saw his girlfriend in his shirt. "You look so sexy in my clothes."

Lily smiled, and climbed into bed.

Rufus slipped on some fresh boxers, then climbed into bed next to her.

Lily rested her head on his chest.

"Sorry, but I don't think you'd look quite as good in _my_ clothes," she teased.

He laughed. "I don't either."

"Besides, I much prefer you naked," she said, trailing her fingers down his naked chest.

He kissed her. "Likewise, Baby."

She stroked her hair, enjoying the moonlight on it from the window.

It wasn't long before they both drifted off to sleep. It had been a long day and night, and tomorrow was a whole other day and night.

Lily was just glad she was going to be able to spend it with the one she loved more than life itself. And she knew that Rufus felt the same way about her. That thought alone made her smile as she drifted off into the most peaceful sleep she had had in a very long time.

* * *

"I still don't get why you even need to tell us about all the times you have sex. Is it really relevant to the story?" Dan asked.

Serena nodded. "Especially the shower scene. We really didn't need to know that."

"I'm just trying to keep the mental images from invading my brain," Eric stated, his nose crinkled.

"I find it _hot_. Feel free to use more detail," Chuck said with a smirk; clearly enjoying his siblings' discomfort.

Lily smiled. "I'm just trying to show you the intensity of our love—how much we truly loved each other." She looked at Rufus and gently rubbed his knee with a smile. "And still do."

Rufus kissed her in response, then turned back to his kids with a grin. "I just like talking about it."

Lily gently swatted his shoulder.

"I honestly don't know whether to think it's sweet or gross, since I didn't grow up with you guys or anything," Scott stated.

"It would be sweet if they weren't our parents, but they are, so it's just gross!" Jenny complained.

Eric nodded. "Finally we agree on something."

"Well, you'll all be relieved to know that I'm done with that part for now. Now shut up and let me finish the story. It's getting late," Lily said.

Rufus laughed. "Look at you, my baby getting all tough. I haven't seen that side of you in a while. It kind of turns me on." He began kissing the side of her neck.

"Come on!" Eric complained.

The rest of the kids (minus Chuck) complained as well.

Lily smirked, and gently pushed Rufus away. "Behave." She gave him a meaningful look. "For now."

Rufus licked his lips and moaned, but did as told and sat back, waiting for Lily to continue with the story.

She did. "The net morning, I woke up in Rufus' arms. I felt so at peace. I wanted more loving, but it didn't work out that way."

"Thank God!" Eric said.

Lily rolled her eyes and smirked. "Anyway, Rufus had to get ready for that meeting he had with the record producer. I was more than willing to help him. Or try to distract him." She smirked at the memory.

* * *

"Good morning, My love," Lily said with a smile when she woke to find Rufus watching her sleep. She gently stroked some hair out of his eyes.

He lovingly kissed her, his hand gently resting on her cheek. "Good morning, beautiful."

Lily moaned into the kiss, and moved so that she was straddling him.

Rufus kissed her passionately, letting her hands roam down his chest. Soon after though, as much has he hated to do it, he stopped kissing her. "We can't do this. I have to meet the band in a half hour, and then we're going to head over to Capital Records. That's where our meeting with Stan, the head of the company is. Can you believe it? This is all so surreal!"

Lily smiled brightly. "I'm so happy for you, My love. You deserve this! Your band is amazing!"

Rufus smirked. "And here I thought you didn't like us as much as Nine Inch Nails. In fact, you never acted all that impressed with Lincoln Hawk."

Lily shrugged. "That was just because I didn't want to admit that I was falling for you. My messed up brain had been still set on me and Trent ending up together. Yuck! Thank God you stopped me from making a horrible mistake with him."

Rufus smiled; amused. "But you were so ticked off when I did that!"

Lily kissed his neck. "Well, I was an idiot." She trailed her kisses from his neck to his lips. "Make love to me again, please?"

His eyes lowered, and his hands went to her waist. "Lil, you have no idea how much I want to, but I can't. I really can't be late for this meeting. I like to be able to take my time with you, and us making love right now would be rushed at best."

Lily sighed. "Oh, all right! I understand."

Rufus kissed her. "After the meeting though." He kissed her again. "I promise!"

"Well, at least let me help you pick something out to wear," Lily requested.

Rufus kissed her. "I think that's a good idea."

They grinned at each other, then kissed again before Lily helped pick out a black dress shirt, khaki pants, a black belt, a blue silk tie, blue socks, and black dress shoes. She even did his hair for him, giving him a bed head look without his hair looking too unruly. "You're so incredibly sexy," she purred, gently kissing down his neck. "Are you sure you don't have time to play?"

His eyes darkened. "Mm, later. I promise you that!"

She pouted. "All right. I better get home to Mom anyway. By now, she probably knows I wasn't at Jenny's. She always has a way of finding out these things."

He kissed her. "I'll meet you at your house after the meeting, and try to smooth things over with her."

Lily smiled. "All right, but good luck with that!"

Rufus grinned, then stroked her hair as he kissed her. "Thanks for helping me get ready."

Lily smiled up at him, her hand on his cheek. "Anything for you, My darling."

They both lowered their eyes this time as they kissed.

"Mm..." Rufus broke the kiss. "If we keep this up, I'm going to miss the meeting all together. I'll see you later at the house!"

Lily pouted, at the kiss being broken. "All right. Good luck!" Not that you'll need it. I'm sure you'll do amazing!"

He grinned at her and blew her a kiss. "Thanks! See you later!" He waved, then was out the door.

Lily sighed, then headed to go to the bathroom and get ready before going home to her favorite warden.

"Where were you? I know you weren't at Jenny's. You didn't have your cell phone on, so I called her house to see when you'd be home, and her mother answered. She said not only were you not at Jenny's, but Jenny isn't even in town!"

Lily rolled her eyes. Her mother could have at least said hello first. She supposed she shouldn't have turned her cell phone off. She just hadn't wanted to be bothered by her mother when she was trying to have a romantic night with her boyfriend. She sighed. "Fine, Mother, you caught me." _Of course._ "I was with Rufus. I lied to you because I knew you wouldn't approve, and would try to stop me if I told you where I was _really_ going."

Cece stiffened. "You spent the night with him?"

Lily looked at her. "Yes, Mother. And, before you ask, _yes_, we had sex—three times to be exact. I'm not a virgin anymore, so you can save all the questions. Now you know."

Cece put her hand over her heart. "Well, I hope you at least used protection!"

"You know I'm on birth control, Mother." Lily began heading to her room; not really in the mood for this conversation.

"Birth control doesn't prevent sexually transmitted diseases!" Cece called out, following behind her daughter.

Lily threw herself down onto her bed. "Gosh, Mother, really? Do we really have to have this conversation?"

Cece crossed her arms and stood in the doorway as she stared down at her daughter. "When it comes to my daughter's health, then yes, we do."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Mother, we were both virgins. Neither one of us contacted anything from anybody, so don't worry."

Cece snorted. "You expect me to believe that boy, a rockstar, was still a virgin?"

"That's what he told me, and I know he is telling the truth!" Lily insisted.

Cece narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "How do you know? Did you look into your crystal ball? Are you psychic?"

Lily narrowed her eyes right back at her. "Don't be a smart ass, Mother. I trust Rufus. He would never lie to me."

Cece glared at her, and, much to Lily's annoyance, shook her finger at Lily. "For one, don't ever talk to me like that, and for two, _all_ men lie."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest as well. "Well, Rufus doesn't—at least not to me."

Cece sighed. "Well, obviously there's nothing I can do to change your mind. I'm sure you'll get over him once you go to Brown and find a nice, charming young man who is worthy of you."

Lily sat up straight in bed. "For one, _Mother_, Rufus _is_ worthy of me. If anything, I don't feel worthy of him. He is a very nice guy, who is a gentleman. If you'd take the time to get to know him, you'd see that!"

Cece held her nose high in the air. "If he were such a gentleman, he wouldn't have taken your virginity from you."

"Well, _I_ took his from _him_. Does that make _me_ not a lady?" Lily quipped.

Cece looked away; not responding to that.

"Anyway, second of all, I'm not going to Brown. Rufus is touring in the fall with his band. They just got signed, and are doing a twenty-city tour. I'm going to go on tour with him," Lily announced.

Cece quickly looked at her daughter again. "Like hell you are!"

Lily got off the bed. "Just try to stop me! I'll be an adult at the end of the year."

Cece gave Lily a look to kill. "But you won't be an adult until November. I take it the tour starts before that?"

Lily shook her head. "Trust me, mother; I'd just keep sneaking out. I won't let you stop me."

"I'll cut you off. If you go on tour with him instead of going to Brown, then you're out of the house, and I'll no longer give you any money," Cece threatened.

Lily hesitated for just a moment. Then she held her head high like her mother's. "Fine. I'll just get a job and live with Rufus."

Cece laughed. "Good luck with that! What happens if he doesn't want you to? What happens if you two get in a big fight and break up? Living together changes things, you know. You'll get on each other's nerves."

Lily smirked. "He couldn't possibly get on my nerves as much as _you_ do. If I survived living with you, I can survive living with _anybody_—especially the man of my dreams."

Cece threw her hands in the air. "So now he's suddenly the man of your dreams. Fine. You know what? You want to ruin your life, then go right ahead. I give you a month—if even that—before you come crawling back to me. I expect you out of the house for good the day you're supposed to leave for Brown. Wether you leave for Brown or to be with your lover boy is entirely up to you."

Lily nodded, her arms crossed firmly across her chest. "Yes, it is. And, don't worry. I'll be out."

"I'm going out for lunch with Edna. Fend for yourself. You're going to have to get used to doing so." With that, Cece turned on her heels and left the room, moments later leaving the house as well.

Lily let out a long sigh, then threw herself face down on her bed, and screamed into her pillow.

"Thank God you're here!" Lily kissed Rufus when he arrived at the house. She was just glad Cece wasn't home yet. "How did things go?"

Rufus grinned. "Lincoln Hawk is officially signed to Capital Records!"

Lily squealed, and jumped up onto Rufus.

Rufus laughed, and grabbed hold of her, holding her up on him.

They kissed.

Rufus grinned even bigger. "Stan even surprised up with confirmation of the tour. It's all set up to start at the end of August through the end of September! We get our own tour bus and everything! Of course the band has to share one tour bus, but we're used to that of course."

"That's perfect! I already told my mother I'm going with you," Lily said, smiling just as brightly.

"Wait, what?" Rufus asked, gently setting Lily back down. "What about Brown?"

Lily shook her head. "I never wanted to go there anyway. It was my mother's dream—not mine." She wrapped her arms around Rufus, and gently rested her forehead against his. "Besides, I couldn't be happy if I wasn't with you—even for only a month."

Rufus kissed her. "Are you sure?"

She kissed him back. "As sure as I was when I asked you to make love to me for the first time."

His eyes lowered, and he gently moaned. "Well, I can't say I won't be happy to have you there with me. But, are you really, really sure? I mean, Brown is a great opportunity. There will be other tours to join me on."

Lily took his face between her hands. "Rufus, look at me. I'm sure. I don't want to go to Brown. I don't care if there will be other tours. I mean, of course I care because it's good for you, but I don't care if... I mean..." Lily struggled for the words. "It's not about me not wanting to miss out on touring with you. It's about me not wanting to be apart from you for that long—ever!"

Rufus kissed her yet again, his hands tightening around her waist. "Well, if you're really sure."

Lily nodded, and kissed him again. "I am."

Rufus grinned. "Well, then this tour just got even better!"

They grinned at each other, their foreheads resting against the other's.

"So, how did Cece take the news? Not good I presume?" Rufus asked.

Lily snickered. "Not at all. Especially not after I told her we had sex."

Rufus' mouth dropped open. "You told her that?"

Lily nodded. "Only because she called Jenny's house and found out through her mother that I wasn't there. I knew she would pry until she got it out of me anyway, so I saved us both the time and energy and just told her."

"I bet she loved that!" Rufus said sarcastically.

Lily rolled her eyes. "She lectured me on safe sex. She doesn't believe you were a virgin."

Rufus blushed. "You told her that too?"

"Only to prove to her I had nothing to worry about when it came to sexually transmitted diseases. I'm sorry. Are you mad?" She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.

Rufus kissed her forehead. "I could never be mad at you."

Lily nuzzled her face against his cheek. "It's nothing to be ashamed of anyway. However, I now have to find a job, _and_ I have to find a place to live. She said I'm out of the house for good come time to leave for Brown. She's also cutting me off."

"Well, you can stay with me, obviously." Rufus stated.

Lily grinned up at him. "I was hoping you'd say that!"

Rufus grinned down at her, and gently stroked her hair. "As for a job, well, how do you feel about being the band's official photographer for our tour? You can take pictures for our Website and our tour books. Hey, maybe even four our album booklet!"

Lily grinned. "Really?"

Rufus nodded. "I'd have to run it by Jake, our tour manager, first, but he's a really great guy. I'm sure he'd be up for it once he saw your work! It would be perfect because then you could tour with me and work all at the same time!"

Lily pulled Rufus in for a deep and passionate kiss. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

Rufus smiled. "Yes, but I love hearing it."

Lily gently ran her hands up his chest. She brushed her lips against his right ear. "My mom is out for a while, so how about I _show_ you how much?"

Rufus' eyes lowered, and he picked Lily up. "I say let's take this to the bedroom."

They grinned at each other, then kissed the whole way to the bedroom.

Lily sighed with contentment as Rufus laid her down onto her bed, and began kissing down her neck. She may not have known what her future held for sure, but, as long as Rufus was in it, she had no doubt that she would be okay. With Rufus, she knew she could get through anything.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 11: Jealousy Rears It's Ugly Head**_

Lily was absolutely thrilled! Rufus had pulled some strings with Jake, the tour manager, and got her the job of being Lincoln Hawk's photographer. Lily had met with Jake and showed him the yearbooks the pictures she had taken pictures for, as well as her section in _In _the_ Know_. Jake had loved her work, and hired her on the spot.

Needless to say, Lily had packed her stuff up and was storing it at Rufus' apartment. He had gotten his apartment back, and, though he would be on tour for a month, had decided to keep it. He had a huge advance from the record company, which paid for it anyway. Now, neither she nor Rufus had to worry about renting a storage area.

The tour was the very next day, and Lily was getting ready to move out of her mother's house. Rufus would be there to pick her up any time now. However, Lily didn't want to leave on bad terms with her mother, so she was going to try to get her mother to lighten up a bit.

She gave her room one last look before she would go find her mother.

She lay down on her bed, closing her eyes and savoring her brief, final moment of lying on it. In a way, it was kind of sad. Her childhood days were long since over. She had graduated two months ago already.

She smiled as she thought of the private celebration she and Rufus had had in his apartment that night. He had her up practically the whole night. Not that she was complaining.

They had had dinner with Cece after the ceremony so that she wouldn't gripe about not being able to spend time with her daughter on her daughter's graduation day. However, right after, Cece went home, and they headed to a teen club with Jenny and Billy.

They had danced and had a blast. Though, Rufus hadn't been too happy when Billy had cut in to dance with her.

Lily thought back to that moment.

"_May I cut in since my girlfriend's in the bathroom?" Billy asked._

_ Rufus glanced at him with distaste. There was just something about Billy that he didn't like. He knew Jenny could do so much better. "Sorry, you're not my type."_

_ Billy smirked. "You know what I mean."_

_ Lily smiled. "It's okay, Darling. Will you go get me a Pepsi? My mouth is so dry." She didn't want to be rude to her best friend's boyfriend. He was a little forward, but he was nice enough. _

_ Rufus glanced from Lily to Billy; unsure._

_ "Please, My love? You get me back when you come back." She smiled in such a way she knew Rufus couldn't say no to her._

_ He sighed, but, after giving Billy one last warning look, he took off to get Lily her drink._

_ "He's a little possessive, isn't he?" Billy asked with a smirk once Rufus was out of earshot._

_ Lily smirked as well. "He can be, but I find it incredibly sexy."_

_ "Just so long as he's not overly possessive, because that's just not healthy!" Billy said._

_ Lily couldn't help but chuckle at this, and it caused Billy to chuckle as well._

_ "So, what are you doing with him anyway?" Billy asked, nodding towards Rufus. "You're hot. You can get any guy you want. You don't have to settle for a wannabe rockstar. There are lots of wealthy men out there that would give their right arm to be with you—maybe even their left arm too."_

_ Lily shook her head. "I don't care about money, William. I love Rufus, and he loves me. He's my everything."_

_ Billy shrugged, his hands tightening around her waist. "To each their own."_

_ Lily sighed, but continued slow dancing with him while she waited for Rufus to return. She gently rested her head on his chest, though she didn't know why. Billy didn't feel nearly as good as Rufus did._

_ Rufus loudly cleared his throat as he came back with Lily's drink. "I'll take my woman back now, please."_

_ Billy turned to him and smirked. "Your 'woman?' Is that really a respectable way to refer to her, Rufus?"_

_ Rufus' eyes narrowed at him. "You're not one to talk about respect, Mr. Sleep with his girlfriend even when she is drunk!" The night of the prom was still etched in _

_Rufus' mind. Jenny was Lily's best friend, and therefore, he cared about Jenny. It was almost as if she were his little sister. He didn't like how Billy treated her. She seemed more like a trophy to him than anything._

_ Billy smirked. "Stay out of my love life, Humphrey. That is, if you know what's good for you."_

_ Rufus clenched his fists, his eyes never once leaving Billy's. "Then stay out of _mine_ if _you_ know what's good for _you_!"_

_ Billy chucked. He then turned back to Lily, and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for the dance."_

_ Rufus gave Billy a look to kill as Billy headed to find Jenny. _

_ Billy returned the look with a smug smirk._

_ "I don't like that guy at all. Jenny can do so much better!" Rufus grumbled as he handed Lily her drink._

_ Lily smirked. "Thanks, My love. And, the feeling's mutual. He told me he thought I could do better than you."_

_ "That son of a bitch! What did you say to him?" Rufus asked, looking around for Billy, looking beyond ticked off._

_ Lily smirked, unable to resist the urge to tease him. She kept her tone serious. "I told him he's totally right, and that I'd ditch you so that he and I can hook up tonight."_

_ Rufus quickly turned his attention back to Lily. "Well, I hope Jenny wasn't too attached to him because now I have to kill him," he joked right back._

_ Lily grinned, as did Rufus._

_ Lily took a long sip of her drink, then set it down on a nearby table, and pulled Rufus in for a deep and passionate kiss. "You should know by now you're the only man for me, Rufus. I told him so."_

_ "And what did he say to _that_?" Rufus asked._

_ Lily shrugged. "He said to each their own." She grinned. "You wanna get out of here?"_

_ Rufus nodded, his hands resting around her waist. "I was just going to ask you the same thing."_

_ Lily grinned, as did Rufus. They then told Jenny and Billy they wanted to go. They were going to send the limo back for them, but Jenny and Billy both wanted to leave too, so they all left together, getting dropped off last._

_ They almost made love in the limo, but managed to get home first. _

_ Rufus had carried her inside, then made love to her practically the whole night._

Lily shivered at the thought, and wrapped her arms around herself with a smile. She hoped Rufus wouldn't be too tired after his shows to have nights like that with her.

Cece knocked on the door, and Lily sat straight up on the bed.

"It's not too late to change your mind and go to Brown, you know. Your acceptance letter was sent, thanks to me."

Lily shook her head. "I'm not going to change my mind, Mother."

Cece shrugged. "Fine. If you want to ruin your life, then it's on your hands."

"I'm not ruining my life, Mother." Lily sighed. "Can we please not do this? Can I please leave on good terms with you? I love you, Mom, and I don't want to fight with you."

Cece sighed. She slowly walked over to Lily, and sat down on the bed next to her. She put an arm around her. "I love you too. I just get upset when I don't see you living your life to its full potential. You're a smart, attractive woman, Lily. I know you can do so much in your life if you just put yourself out there a little! I want you to go to college and get a degree in something. You're a wonderful photographer. Maybe you could be a photo journalist. I'd settle for anything at this point as long as it meant you going to college!"

Lily rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "I'm not saying I'll never go, Mother. I'm just saying I want to take a break from school. I just got done with doing twelve years of school—not counting preschool and kindergarten! I just want some time to be with Rufus and enjoy life a little."

Cece shook her head. "There will be plenty of time to enjoy life after college. And, who's to say college wouldn't be enjoyable?"

Again, Lily sighed. "Can't we just compromise? Can't you be okay with me touring with Rufus if I promise to eventually go to college?"

"I'll never be okay with you choosing to tour with him instead of going to college." Cece sighed. "But, I suppose it's good you'll at least be doing something to give you credibility, what with taking pictures for the band and all. It will look good when you finally do decide to go to college—and for any job you may want to get in the future. It's a definite career builder, though not quite as good as going to college would be."

Lily smiled up at her mother. "Thanks, Mom."

Cece smiled at her daughter, and gently rubbed her back. "I just want what's best for you. Your sister isn't exactly living the life I dreamed for her. I just wanted it to be different with you."

Lily sighed, and rested her head against her mother's shoulder. "Carol and I have to live our own dreams, Mom. Sometimes they aren't necessarily going to be the same as yours."

Cece sighed as well. "I know, but it does't make it any easier. I feel like I'm losing my little girl all over again."

"You're never going to lose me, Mom. I may get married one day, and even have children of my own, but you're _always_ going to be my Mom. Nobody's ever going to take that away! A girl _always_ needs her mother."

Cece smiled down at her daughter, and squeezed her tightly. "I appreciate you saying that."

Lily shrugged. "Well, it's true. I'll never stop loving and needing you, and neither will Carol."

Cece kissed her daughter's cheek. "And I'll never stop loving and needing _you_."

"I would hope not!" Lily said. "I'm your daughter for goodness sake!"

They both laughed.

The doorbell buzzed then.

Lily smiled at her mother. "That's Rufus." She stood up, then hugged and kissed her mother one more time. "I love you. Always remember that."

"Right back at you, Lillian," Cece stated, giving her daughter a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

Lily smiled, then headed for the door.

"Oh, and Lily?" Cece called after her.

Lily paused in the bedroom doorway. "Yes, Mother?"

"I didn't mean you have to leave the house for good. If things don't work out between you and Rufus, or you two have a fight, you're always welcome back here," Cece told her.

Lily smiled. "I doubt that will happen, but thanks, Mom. It's good to know."

Lily then ran towards the front door, unlocked it, yanked it open, then jumped into Rufus' arms with a squeal.

Rufus laughed, and held her tight. "What a welcome!"

Lily smiled down at him. "I'm just really happy to see you."

Rufus' eyes lowered with love for her. "And I'm happy to see _you_, Lil."

They kissed, and Lily sighed with contentment. This was where she belonged—nowhere else. There was no doubt in her mind.

* * *

"When does mom come into the story?" Jenny asked.

"Soon," Rufus promised.

"I'm not sure I'm going to like that part." Scott looked over at his half sister and brother. "No offense."

Dan shrugged. "None taken."

"If it weren't for my mom meeting my dad, Dan and I never would have been born," Jenny said in response.

"Too bad they didn't stop at Dan," Eric and Scott both quipped in unison.

Eric and Scott burst into laughter, and high-fived. Even Chuck smirked.

Dan snickered, and Serena just shook her head.

Jenny shot Eric and Scott a nasty look. "Very funny."

Lily was smirking; trying her best not to laugh for Jenny's sake.

"You know, sometimes I think the same thing," Rufus joked; wanting to get his daughter going.

"Well, at least then I wouldn't have to look at _you_ every day," Jenny quipped back without missing a beat.

The look on Rufus' face was priceless. They all had a laugh at Rufus' expense—even Lily.

"_Thanks_! You're my wife. You're supposed to have my back," Rufus said to his wife with a pout.

Lily smiled, and gently moved his face to hers. She kissed him. "I have more than your back."

Rufus grinned.

Dan loudly cleared his throat. "All right, back to the story, please!"

Serena nodded. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea."

Rufus grinned at his child and stepdaughter. "All right, fine. But I'm taking over now."

"And I'll chime in on the parts when you weren't there," Lily added.

"Great, whatever, just keep going please," Dan said.

"The way children talk to their parents nowadays!" Rufus commented. Even so, he continued. "The tour started off without a hitch. Well," He looked at his wife. "Lily wasn't too pleased with the sleeping arrangements, but other than that..."

Lily smirked. "I was used to better accommodations. I was rich, you know."

Rufus glanced at her. "Not much has changed there, Lil."

She nodded, her hand on his arm. "Good point."

Rufus turned his attention back to the kids. "Anyway, I guess I'll start when she saw the tour bus. She was none too thrilled to see the size of the bunks."

* * *

"Not to sound like a spoiled diva, but, how are we both going to fit in one of these? I mean, they barely look big enough to fit one of us!" Lily whined when she came onto the tour bus and saw a tiny row of bunks—two on each side.

"Don't worry, Lily. There's a king-sized bed in the way back that you and Rufus can share," Jerry said.

"Thank you!" Lily said.

Rufus nodded. "Yeah, thanks, Jer."

"Wait. Why do _they_ get the big bed? We're just as much as part of the band as Rufus is," Bobby complained.

John and Andy quietly voiced their agreement.

Jerry rolled his eyes. "Because there is two of them, and only one of us per bed."

"But what if I want to bring a lady back? You know how many groupies I have. The ladies love me!" Bobby blew on his fist, and rubbed it against his shirt.

Lily smirked. "I think they'd prefer the bunk anyway because, with the curtain closed, it probably gets really dark in there. I'm sure the ladies prefer it to be dark so they don't have to see your face when your screwing them."

Rufus laughed, as did John, Andy, and Jerry.

"Ooh! She got you big, Dude!" Andy said, clapping a hand over Bobby's shoulder.

"Yeah, well it is just as dark with the lights out in the back room," Bobby said; only thinking of a way to argue Lily's excuse. Then it hit him that he had just been insulted. "Wait. Hey!"

They all, minus Bobby of course, laughed.

"Dude! Really?" Jerry asked, clapping him on the back.

"Whatever," Bobby grumbled, giving Lily the evil eye.

Lily smirked. "All right. I don't want to be any trouble. I appreciate you guys letting me tour with you. I'll tell you what. There are four weeks of this tour, right?"

The others all nodded.

"Well, Rufus and I will get it the first week since, like Jerry pointed out, there _is_ two of us. However, Jerry can have the second week, Bobby, you may have the third week, and Andy you can have the forth," Lily tried.

"Hello, what am I? Chopped liver?" John asked.

Lily blushed. "Oops! Sorry, John. I forgot about you."

"Well, I don't mind sharing the bed with you during my week, if you're not weirded out by it," Jerry said to John.

John shrugged. "I don't care. It's a King-sized bed. There will still be plenty more room sharing that with you on a King bed than there would be by myself on the single. But, if we have a girl we want to bring in for a quickie..."

Jerry smirked. "We'll work something out if that happens."

John nodded. "Deal!"

"Good! I'm glad that's all settled. "Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to shower while you guys do your soundcheck," Lily said, dragging her big suitcase towards the back room.

"Did you pack for a month or a _year_, Lily?" John quipped.

Lily stopped, and turned her head towards him. "I'm a _woman_. We need more things to get by than a man does." With that, she continued into the back room, and shut the door behind her.

Bobby, Andy, John, and Jerry all looked at Rufus.

Rufus shrugged and grinned. "Gotta love her, right?"

His three four friends all rolled their eyes, but smiled nonetheless, though shaking their heads as they did so.

Lily finished with her shower and, once she was dried, dressed, and looking fabulous, she headed into the arena to watch her boyfriend and his band finish up their soundcheck.

She headed to the front row, and was about to take a seat when she saw some blonde girl, who looked to be about her age. The girl was dressed in a pink jumpsuit with black ankle boots that had what looked to be four inch heels. She was dancing to the music, her hands in the air. She was smiling big at Rufus. Already Lily hated her.

Lily walked right over to her and stood by her, giving her a once over with distaste.

The girl looked Lily over, looking just as unimpressed. She then turned her attention back to Rufus and blew him a kiss.

Rufus smiled at the girl, and pretended to catch the kiss with his hand.

Lily's eyes narrowed. She didn't know who in the hell this girl was, but one thing was for sure—the bitch had to go!

Lily walked right up to the stage and smiled big at Rufus. She licked her lips, and made a motion as if she were kissing him.

He looked at her, the desire in his eyes clear as he licked his lips in return.

Lily smirked. She knew how to keep her man's attention. This bitch ought to watch out if she knew what was good for her!

After the soundcheck, Rufus sat down on the stage, then half pushed, half jumped off. He put his arm around Lily. "Did you like what you saw?" He grinned at her.

Lily glanced at the blonde girl. "I did until I saw _her_." She nodded at the girl. "Where did _she_ come from? I didn't know fans were allowed at the soundcheck."

Rufus shook his head. "They're not, but she jumped the fence and seemed so enthused with our music, we decided to let her stay."

Lily wrapped her arms around Rufus' waist, and narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Yeah, well I think you're the only one she's 'enthused' with."

Before Rufus could respond to that, the girl came over to them, twirling some of her blonde hair with her right index finger, and smiling, all googly eyed, up at Rufus.

Lily rolled her eyes. _Oh, Brother!_

"Hey! You were great up there! Thanks for letting me stay," the girl said.

Rufus smiled politely at her. "Why, thank you! Have you seen us perform before when we opened up for Nine Inch Nails?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, but I had such horrible seats. I was in the last row of the balcony. At least I could still hear you, and of course see how hot you were on the screen." She batted her eyelashes, and smiled slyly.

Rufus chuckled. "Well, thank you!" He blew on his fist and rubbed his chest, a la Bobby. "So, what's your name? I take it you already know I'm Rufus." He extended his hand to her.

The girl smiled and extended her hand as well; shaking his. "I'm Allison—Allison Baker."

Rufus grinned at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Allison Baker." He kissed her hand.

Allison grinned, and pulled him close by way of his hand. Then, she planted a kiss right smack dab on his lips.

Lily gasped out loud. _Oh I _know_ she didn't just do that!_

Rufus smirked, and licked his lips. "What was _that_ for?"

Allison grinned. "Just for being so hot."

"Yeah, well, next time I would appreciate it if you didn't kiss my boyfriend," Lily said coldly.

Allison glanced at her. "Sorry. I couldn't resist. Besides, I figured you were just some groupie. I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, well, he does, and I'm it. In fact, _you're_ the groupie. You'll have to find a new member to hit on." Lily held tightly to Rufus' arm. "This one is mine. The others are single though." She then kissed Rufus hard on the mouth.

Allison smirked. "I'll see you around, Rufus. I have front row this time. My father knows people who know people, and managed to pull some strings for me."

Rufus eyed Lily with a lustful look on his face. He hungrily licked his lips. Then, he turned his attention back to Allison. "All right, cool! I'll see you tonight then."

Alison smiled slyly at him. "Indeed you will." She then walked off, smiling at Rufus from behind her shoulder.

Lily clenched her fists, and narrowed her eyes at Allison. "Slut!"

Rufus laughed. "Why, Lily Rhodes, are you jealous?"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "_No_, I just don't like trashy sluts kissing my man."

Rufus kissed her, then took her hand in his own. "Well, you don't have to worry, because no one's kisses could ever compare to _yours_. And, speaking of which, I _loved_ that one you gave me."

Lily smiled. "Oh yeah?" She kissed him hard on the mouth again.

He moaned. "Mm, after the show, I'm _so_ going to take you to bed."

Lily licked her lips. "Why not now?"

"Because I'm hungry, and I need to eat something before the show tonight or I'll get weak and pass out." Rufus grinned at her.

Lily grinned as well. "Well, we can't have _that_ now, can we? I need you to have plenty of energy tonight, not only for the show, but for _after_ the show."

Rufus' eyes lowered, and he licked his lips again.

He kissed her passionately, then they smiled at each other, and headed hand-in-hand to find a good place to eat.

That night at the show, Allison was at it again, dancing on her chair even, her arms in the air. She was smiling and blowing kisses at Rufus throughout the show, and it was ticking Lily off by the minute!

Needless to say, by the time the show was over, Lily was ready to deck her.

"What did I tell you about staying away from my boyfriend?" Lily asked her, having taken her arm and pulled her aside.

Allison shot Lily a nasty look, and roughly pulled her arm away. "Don't touch me, for starters. Second off, you said not to _kiss_ him. You never said anything about staying away from him."

"Yeah, well that was implied," Lily said icily.

Allison smirked. "You're not the boss of me, and Rufus is a big boy. I think he can decide who he does and does not want to hang out with."

Lily clenched her fists. "I'm about two seconds away from punching you right in the face."

Allison smirked. "I'd like to see you try. All it would get you is a free stay overnight in a holding cell."

Lily clenched her fists harder, and cried out loudly in frustration. _Who _is_ this chick?_ She knew she had to get away from Allison before she did something she shouldn't.

She headed backstage. At least Allison couldn't go _there_.

Rufus smiled when he saw Lily walk over to him. He pulled her close, and kissed her deeply. "Hey, Love. Did you enjoy the show?"

Lily snuggled up against his chest. "I did, but that Allison chick was making me mad. She kept flirting with you throughout the whole show!"

Rufus smirked.

"Did I just hear someone speak my name?"

Lily whipped around to see that Allison had now come up to them. She narrowed her eyes. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Allison smirked, and dangled her backstage pass, which was hanging on a metal ball chain. "With my front row ticket came a backstage pass. Gotta love my father and his connections."

"Or hate him," Lily quipped.

Allison glared at her.

"So! How did you like the show now that you had a better seat?" Rufus asked Allison, eager to change the subject before Lily and Allison tore each other's hair out. Not that he wouldn't like seeing two beautiful woman fighting over him. He smiled to himself at the thought.

Allison smiled, and walked closer to Rufus. She pushed Lily aside.

Lily gasped.

Allison then placed a hand overtop of his shoulder. "You were amazing! I'm surprised you guys didn't get signed _earlier_. In fact, Nine Inch Nails should have been the ones opening up for _you_!"

Rufus smiled. "Aw, thanks! "But the whole band is great. It's not just me. I'm lucky to have them."

Allison smiled slyly. "I don't know. I'd say they're lucky to have _you_!"

Lily rolled her eyes, and was about to say something smart, when Allison did it again. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Rufus. It was only on the cheek this time, but it was a kiss, nonetheless.

Overtaken by anger, Lily pushed Allison hard. "Get the hell away from my boyfriend! I told you that before!"

"Lily! Don't be rude!" Rufus scolded.

Allison placed a hand over Rufus' back. "It's okay. She's just a little possessive. I would be too if you were mine."

Lily narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, you're not, so back off!"

"Lily, stop it! She's just being friendly. It was only a kiss on the cheek this time. There's no reason to get hostile with her!" Rufus scolded again.

Lily shot Rufus a look. "You're defending her over your own girlfriend?"

Rufus held his hands up in defense. "She didn't do anything!"

Lily couldn't believe he was acting his way—her own boyfriend. "You know what? Fine. Why don't you just hang out with _her_ then? I'm going back to the bus."

With that, Lily turned on her heel and left, ignoring Rufus' calls for her to come back. If Rufus wanted to flirt back with that slut, then so be it! She didn't need him. She didn't need anybody!

Unfortunately, the tears in her eyes betrayed her theory.

Lily decided to take a shower. She had taken one earlier of course, but she just wanted to be under the warm water again. It relaxed her.

She was in the shower for only about five minutes when the curtain opened.

She gasped, and instinctively jumped back, her hands covering her body.

She narrowed her eyes when she saw it was Rufus. He was nude, and obviously looking to shower with her.

"This shower is already taken in case you have't noticed." She turned away with distaste.

He stepped in anyway, and pulled the curtain shut.

Lily glared at him. "I _told_ you, I—"

Rufus cut her off his a kiss.

Instinctively, Lily wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him in return. She broke the kiss. "I'm still mad at you."

Rufus nodded. "And you have every right to be! I'm sorry I stood up for Allison. It will never happen again, I promise. I told her that, though I'm happy to have her as my fan, and though she is a very beautiful, sweet woman, I have a girlfriend, whom I love more than anyone on the planet, and that it would be best if she didn't kiss me anymore—even just on the cheek."

Lily looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. "Really?"

Rufus nodded. "Really! You're the only one I could ever want. You should know that by now." He trailed his fingertips slowly down her back, and kissed her, his eyes lowered with love.

Lily kissed him back, instantly forgiving him. How could she ever stay mad at him?

She broke a kiss as things started to get heated. "Mm, not here. Let's go to bed."

Rufus kissed her neck. "Good idea." He turned off the water, then picked her up.

Lily smiled. "Are the others coming back? We should probably put a towel on or something—even if it is just from here to the bedroom."

Rufus shook his head. "Jerry mentioned something about going to a club after the meet n' greets. I told him and the guys to not come back for an hour or so."

"Don't _you_ have to be at the meet n' greets?" Lily asked.

Rufus shrugged. "I was there for a bit. But you're the only one I want to meet n' greet." He grinned.

Lily giggled, and they kissed as he carried her out of the bathroom, and to the bedroom.

"I'm glad the door has a lock," Lily said with a smirk as Rufus laid her down onto the bed then went to shut and lock the bedroom door.

He turned back to her with a grin. "They're not going to be back for a while anyway. This is just a precaution." He climbed into bed with her, and took her into his arms.

Lily took him into her arms as well, and soon they were kissing again, their hands roaming the other's body.

Rufus continued to kiss Lily's mouth for a moment, then moved his kisses to her breasts, then down her stomach, and eventually lower.

Lily moaned, her eyes closing and her head thrown back both instinctively.

She gripped his hair tightly with her fingers as he pleasured her in a way she had never been pleasured before. However, just when she couldn't take it anymore, he stopped.

"What did you stop for?" she asked out of breath as Rufus climbed back up her body.

He grinned at her, then brushed his lips against her left ear. "Wouldn't it be more fun if we do something that we can both physically enjoy? Not that I don't enjoy making you writhe in pleasure with just my tongue, but—"

Lily cut him off, her eyes darkened with lust. "Just make love to me before I explode."

Rufus' eyes soon matched Lily's. He kissed her and entered her at the same time, causing her to moan against his lips.

Soon, they were intensely kissing, touching, and making love, rolling over each other; fighting for dominance.

Rufus won out, and soon they were both reaching their ultimate satisfaction, their lips not wanting to leave the other's.

They lay in each other's arms afterwards, both smiling.

"That was the best yet, I think!" Lily said after a sigh of contentment. She gently rubbed Rufus' chest with her fingertips.

Rufus kissed her. "I _know_ it was!"

They both grinned, and kissed some more.

"So, do you think Allison could ever do that?" Lily asked after a bit, a smirk on her face.

Rufus smirked back at her. "I don't know, but I could find out if you want."

Lily gasped, and swatted his arm.

"Ouch!" Rufus said, feigning hurt as he rubbed his arm.

Lily rolled her eyes. "That didn't hurt."

"How do you know? Was it you who was slapped?" Rufus' grin gave him away.

Lily smiled. "Well, maybe I should help take your mind off the pain then." She took his arm and gently kissed it. She then kissed his stomach, and went lower until she was pleasuring Rufus the way he had pleasured her earlier.

Rufus' eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he rested his hands on the back of Lily's head, gently playing with her hair.

It didn't take long before he lost all control. He felt even more pleasure when he saw that Lily didn't seem to have a problem with that.

Moments later, Lily had crawled up his body, and they were kissing again, his hands massaging her breasts.

"We're never going to get any sleep if you keep doing that," she said with a smile.

Rufus kissed her. "I don't want to sleep. I want to make love to you all night."

Lily licked her lips. "I want that too, but I'm tired, and you need some sleep for your show tomorrow."

Rufus sighed. "Oh, all right! I love you."

Lily kissed him. "I love you too."

They kissed for a moment more, then just lay in silence until they eventually fell asleep, Lily's breathing lulling Rufus to sleep, and Rufus' heartbeat lulling Lily to sleep. Both had never been more content.

* * *

Rufus smirked as he surveyed the kids. Chuck, was grinning widely. Dan had the most disgusted look on his face, which made Rufus burst into laughter.

"Was it really necessary giving them that much information, My Love?" Lily asked, giving Rufus a stern look.

Rufus smirked at her. "What? It was so good, I felt it needed to be told! Furthermore, I like grossing out the kids." He grinned at the kids.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Scott said. "It affected me more than I thought."

Lily smiled. "Well, you wanted to know when you were conceived. I'm pretty sure that was the time."

Scott suddenly looked ghostly white. He got up and ran for the bathroom.

"Mother! Talk about TMI!" Serena scolded.

Lily smiled and shrugged. "What? He wanted to know when he was conceived. I told him."

Rufus laughed again. This time, Lily couldn't help but laugh a little too as she looked at him. He had been right—it _was_ fun grossing out the kids.

Jenny crinkled her nose. "I'm glad we have more than one bathroom." She got up and ran upstairs to the upstairs bathroom.

Eric looked positively green. "I don't think I'm ever going to get those images out of my head. I think I'd like to start seeing my therapist again."

"Maybe I'll start seeing him too. I think I need to now, no thanks to our sadistic parents," Dan stated.

Chuck smirked. "Am I the only one of us who found it hot?"

"Yes!" Serena snapped, her arms crossed over her chest.

Rufus and Lily held hands, and grinned at their kids. Maybe it had been mean to tell them what they had, but hey, the kids wanted the story, they got it!

Rufus and Lily both grinned at the thought.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 12: Every Dilemma Comes With Some Bad Advice**_

"Kids, come on back! It's getting late! I promise we'll both behave from now on," Lily promised, calling out to her children.

Chuck, who had remained in his seat, smirked. "Aw, do you really have to? I was quite enjoying the story the way it was."

Lily smirked at him in response.

Serena came into the room and took her usual spot. She had just gotten up to get a drink of water.

Jenny came back from the bathroom, and Dan came in a few feet behind her, his hands over his ears. "Are they saying anything disgusting?"

Jenny rolled her eyes, and walked over to her brother. She took his hands off his ears. "No, they promised to behave."

Dan cast a wary glance at his father and stepmother. "You better." He then took his seat next to Serena.

Jenny sat down on her spot on the floor.

Eric and Scott came into the room together, both looking slightly ill.

"No more being disgusting, okay? It's cruel and unusual punishment. Scott and I have done nothing to deserve this," Eric said, taking his seat next to Scott, who had sat back down next to Jenny.

Scott nodded. "I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't go any higher than a PG-13 rating for the rest of the story."

Rufus rolled his eyes. "You all are a bunch of babies! Don't worry though, the story is almost over. I'll even let Lily tell the next part." He took his wife's hand in his own, and gently squeezed it.

Lily squeezed his hand in return, and gave him a smile before turning her attention back to the kids. "Don't worry. I meant what I said—I'll be good. All right! You don't need to know every single detail of the next month, so I'll skip towards the end."

"And you couldn't have done that with the sex parts?" Eric quipped.

Lily smirked at him, but ignored him otherwise. "Allison backed off a little, but she was still at every show. I wanted to pull my hair out."

"I'm glad you didn't. Your hair is so beautiful," Rufus said, gently running his fingers through Lily's hair.

Lily smiled at him, and kissed his cheek. Then, she continued. "I enjoyed our days on the tour bus. I thought it was kind of an adventure. And, I shouldn't be telling you guys this, but it was also fun just hanging with the guys and getting high."

Jenny smirked. "Nice, Dad. You used to get high, yet you had a cow when you found out I was selling drugs. Where did you get _yours_ from? A dealer no doubt?"

Rufus glared at her. "That was when I was young and stupid like you. Care to be grounded again?"

Jenny sneered at him in return. "No thanks."

Lily smiled, and gently squeezed her husband's hand again as she continued. "It wasn't anything major, and it soon stopped when something unexpected happened."

"Don't you love being a rockstar's girl? You get to do all this cool shit," Bobby said as he smoked his joint. They were all sitting on the King-sized bed (minus Jerry, who didn't smoke, and was reading in his bunk), sharing two joints.

Lily smirked as she took the joint Rufus was offering her. She puffed on it before responding. "I love it. This comes close to being the best part."

"And what's the best part?" Rufus asked her.

She smirked at him. "You know darn well what the best part is."

Rufus shook his head, playing dumb. "Uh uh! I think you better show me."

Lily giggled. "Okay."

"Not on _this_ bed you don't! It's my week, remember?" Andy asked.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Chillax! I know that!"

"Well, we better get going to the soundcheck now. I hope we can play high," Rufus said with a laugh.

Jerry popped his head in the door, and rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you guys can smoke that junk."

"Easily!" Bobby said to him. He then looked at Rufus. "I don't know about you, but I think us being high makes us play better!"

Andy laughed. "It does. It really does."

John got up and stretched. "Let's get this over with. I wanna take a nap before the show."

They put out the two joints, which were practically finished anyway.

Rufus wrapped his arms around Lily's waist. "You coming?" He kissed her neck.

Lily nodded, then kissed his lips. "I'll be there in a minute."

He kissed her. "Okay. Don't be long. I miss you too much when you're gone."

She smiled, and gently stroked his cheek. "I miss you too."

They kissed once more, then Rufus headed out with his band mades to go to the soundcheck.

As soon as they were gone, Lily got up and ran to the bathroom. She threw up in the toilet. She had started to feel sick since they had begun smoking their joints, but she hadn't said anything because, for one, she didn't want to worry Rufus, and, for two, she didn't want the band razzing her for getting sick smoking a joint. That is, if the joint had anything to do with it. The egg rolls she had had last night at CCC's (better known as Chang's Chinese Cuisine) had looked questionable. She had no idea why she had even ordered them.

After she threw up, she wiped her mouth with a paper towel, then flushed it down with the rest of the evidence.

She then washed her hands and brushed her teeth. She was still feeling a little off, but she headed out to the soundcheck anyway. Allison had only been coming to the meet n' greets and shows after that night—not the sound checks—but Lily still wasn't going to risk Allison being there. There was no way that bitch was getting her hands or lips on _her_ man. If she thought she was, she had another thing coming.

Allison wasn't at the soundcheck, but Billy and Jenny were.

Lily smiled when she saw her friends, and ran to them. She hugged them both. "What are you guys doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you. I just wouldn't expect to see you at the California shows when we end in New York next week."

Jenny smiled, an arm around Billy. "Billy thought it would be nice to take me to California and show me around LA. He used to go here all the time with his family. Also, we wanted to surprise you. You were expecting us in New York, and we knew you'd never expect us all the way out here."

Lily grinned. "Not even a little bit! I'm glad you're both here." She hugged Jenny again, and then Billy.

Billy patted her butt when he hugged her. "Glad to see you, Lil. I'm glad you're happy to see us."

Lily pulled away. "Why did you just pat my butt?" she asked with confusion.

"I might ask the same question," Rufus stated, coming over to them and placing an arm possessively around Lily. "And, for the record, I'm the only one who can call her Lil."

Billy smirked. "I'm sorry, Rufus. I didn't know you had a trademark on that name."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Rufus asked, his free hand clenched.

"I just wanted to show Jenny around LA, and to surprise Lily. You know, my family used to come here all the time," Billy stated.

Rufus sneered at him. "_Charming_. Now, the question remains, why did you just pat my girlfriend's butt? Surely you're not so stupid you don't know that that is off limits."

Billy ignored Rufus and turned his attention to Lily. "My apologizes. I was just joking around. Sometimes I take my joking too far."

"Ya think?" Jenny asked, sounding annoyed. Her arms were now crossed over her chest. Lily could suddenly sense the tension between the two.

Apparently, so could Billy. He placed his arm around Jenny, and kissed her cheek. "Sorry, Babe."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "You keep saying that word, but then you keep doing these things over and over."

"Did you finish your soundcheck already?" Lily asked, turning her attention to Rufus. She felt intrusive listening in on Jenny and Billy's argument.

Rufus shook his head. "No. I had to stop when I saw that animal making a pass at you." He nodded at Billy with distaste.

"Don't worry about it." Lily placed her hands on each side of Rufus' face. "I'll slap him silly if he tries it again."

Rufus grinned down at her. "In that case, I hope he tries it again."

They both grinned, then kissed.

"I'll be back in a few," Rufus said, a moment later after breaking the kiss.

Lily nodded, then stood on her toes to give him one more kiss.

He then went back onstage and finished the sound check.

Jenny and Billy seemed to be over their argument already. They were dancing along to the music, and sneaking kisses here and there. Not that Lily was watching them too often. Her eyes were practically glued to Rufus. She couldn't get over how sexy he was when he performed. Well, he was _always_ sexy, but there was just something about the way he performed that made her want to rip his clothes off and take him right there on the stage.

When the soundcheck was over, Rufus and the band joined the three of them.

"You're pretty," Bobby said to Jenny, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively at her. He nodded at Billy. "You still dating that chump?"

Rufus smirked. Bobby was bold and said it like it was; not caring who he said things in front of.

"Yes, she is" Billy said, rolling his eyes and putting his arm tightly around Jenny's waist. "And I'm not a chump."

Jenny smirked. "Besides, I know all about you, Bobby. I don't date players."

Bobby pouted. "Harsh! _Man_ word gets around fast!"

"I'm starved. Do you all wanna get something to eat?" Jenny asked, the conversation over, Lily took it.

Everyone voiced their agreement except for John, who opted to get something later. "I'm really tired. I need to take a nap before the show tonight."

So, they bid him ado, and headed out to eat.

When they got to the restaurant, they got seated right away, even though there was seven of them and a line.

"Ah, the joys of being a rockstar!" Jerry said as they got seated at their table. "Normally, I would feel guilty, but, since we have a show to get to tonight and are on limited time, I'm gonna just go with it now."

Bobby pat him on his back. "I don't care if we're on limited time or not. I hate to wait!"

They all continued making small talk as they looked over their menus.

They were at a pizza place. At first, pizza had sounded good to Lily, but now, as she tried to decide on which kind to get, it started making her feel kind of sick again.

"You like Hawaiian pizza. Ham and pineapple good, Baby?" Rufus asked her from beside her.

Lily nodded. "Sounds good." She figured light toppings like those should be okay.

So, they all put in their orders, having decided to get a large Hawaiian, a large sausage and pepperoni, and a large cheese, and just split the three pizzas between the seven of them. They also ordered breadsticks and wings.

"I can hardly believe our tour's going to be over in a week! I'm going to miss it!" Jerry stated.

Rufus nodded. "But Jake said our tour might very possibly get extended for another two months starting in November, so you never know!"

"I don't want to jinx it!" Jerry said.

Rufus turned to Lily. "Would you tour with us if it got extended?"

Lily's stomach was really acting up now, but she resisted the urge to barf, and put on a smile. "You know it!"

Rufus grinned, and they kissed, Lily's hands on his cheeks.

Their breadsticks and wings came shortly after.

"Here. These are the mild ones. I know you hate the hot ones," Jenny said, holding the plate out to Lily, hovering it only six inches from underneath Lily's nose.

That was it. Lily felt her stomach churn to the point of no return. She placed her hand over her stomach. "Excuse me!" She got up and quickly ran for the bathroom, making it in the bathroom and in the stall just in time. She was glad she was the only one in the bathroom because, for a minute straight, she couldn't stop throwing up.

Jenny came into the bathroom just as Lily was finishing up. "Lily, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Lily wiped her mouth with toilet paper, then tossed it in the toilet and flushed it. She exited the stall, then used her hands as a cup to rinse her mouth out in the sink.

She turned to Jenny. "Do you have a mint or something?"

Jenny dug into her purse, and handed her a stick of wintergreen chewing gum. "I keep it on me for covering up my smoking break before kissing Billy." She grinned.

"Thanks!" Lily opened the gum and popped the stick in her mouth, discarding the wrapper in the trash.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Jenny asked, gently rubbing her friend's back.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. I've been getting sick lately. I thought it was just something I ate, but it keeps coming back."

"When does it get triggered?" Jenny asked.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. This morning I started to feel sick, then I smoked a joint and it made me throw up. You know me. I can handle a joint. It's just weird. Then, the wings triggered it again."

Jenny winced. "I'm sorry."

Lily shook her head, and placed a hand overtop of her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. How were you to know?"

"Are you using protection when you have sex with Rufus?" Jenny asked.

Lily nodded. "Of course! I'm on birth control."

"Nothing is ever a hundred percent besides abstinence," Jenny stated.

Lily smirked. "Who are you, Mrs. Davis?" she asked regarding their high school health teacher.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "I'm serious, Lily. How do you know you're not pregnant?"

Lily shook her head and laughed. "No!" Then she sobered up a bit, her confidence quickly faltering. "I mean, I don't _think_ I am."

"When was your last period?" Jenny asked.

"August twenty-second," Lily answered, looking down at the floor.

"Uh, I hate to break it to you, Lily, but it's now September twenty-fifth," Jenny stated.

Lily looked at her friend, her eyes wide. "Maybe it's just late. I've been under a lot of stress lately what with that Allison chick being everywhere. It could cause it to be late."

Jenny nodded. "Possibly, but Lily, I really think we need to get you a pregnancy test."

Lily sighed. "I really don't think I'm pregnant."

Jenny shrugged. "Well, at least we'll know for sure this way, and you won't have to worry about it."

Lily shot her a look. "I'm not worried about it, but fine. Where we going to get one?"

"There's a drug store right next door. I'll just tell Billy I need tampons or something. None of the guys will follow us or question us then." Jenny grinned.

Lily grinned too, despite the fact that secretly, she really _was_ worried. She had lied to Jenny about not being worried, though she didn't know why.

"You feeling well enough to eat now?" Jenny asked, placing an arm around her friend.

Lily nodded. "Yes. I'm actually starved now that I got all the junk out of my stomach!"

Jenny smiled. "Good!"

They then walked with their arms around each other's neck out of the bathroom and back to the table.

"You okay, Love?" Rufus asked, kissing Lily's cheek when she sat down.

Lily nodded. "I am now that I went to the bathroom!"

"TMI!" Bobby complained.

The other's laughed, and Lily smiled as she put a couple chicken wings and some blue cheese onto her plate. She tried not to think of the feeling of dread that was forming in the pit of her stomach as she thought of the possibility that she could be pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant right now! It would ruin everything! She was just being paranoid though. Jenny was just being cautious—that was all. It was just stress, like Lily had originally thought.

Lily sighed. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she'd finally believe it.

After lunch, Jenny and Lily were able to pick up the test without any questions asked. Jenny even picked up some tampons to avoid suspicion.

Then, once the guys were off to the pre-show meet n greet, Lily and Jenny stayed back in the bathroom of the tour bus so that Lily could take the test.

"I'm nervous," Lily said after taking the test. She set it on the bathroom sink to await the results, then washed her hands.

"Don't be." Jenny placed her hand over Lily's shoulder and gently rubbed it. "We'll find out shortly, and we'll go from there. I'm here for you no matter what happens."

Lily smiled at her friend, then rested her head against Jenny's. "You're such a good friend to me."

"Right back at ya, Babe!" Jenny said.

They made small talk until the fifteen minute waiting period was up.

"I'm nervous," Lily stated again.

"Do you want me to look for you?" Jenny asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, I need to do this myself." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then, she headed over to the test and picked it up. She knew that pink meant pregnant and blue meant she wasn't. Her heart thumped and her stomach dropped when she saw the pink strip. "I'm pregnant," she said in disbelief.

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked, looking over her shoulder.

Lily nodded. "Yes! Pink means your pregnant, and there it is, pink as a wad of gum."

Jenny sighed. "So, what do you want to do from here?"

Lily sighed as well. "Well, I'm not going to abort it, if that's what you're asking. I don't believe in terminating a life."

Jenny nodded. "I agree! So, are you going to tell Rufus? You have to."

Lily shrugged. "I don't know, Jenny. I just need to be a lone for a little bit. Can you please go tell Rufus I'll be at the show, but just wanted to take a nap first?"

Jenny nodded. "Are you sure? Cuz I'll stay with you as long as you need me to."

Lily nodded. "I know you would, and I appreciate it, but I really just need to be alone for a few minutes. Please."

Jenny nodded, then hugged her friend and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you at the show." She took the test from Lily. I'll ditch it in one of the public garbage cans so no one finds it."

"Thanks," Lily said, feeling as if she might throw up again, this time more from finding out she was pregnant than actually being pregnant.

Jenny headed to the bathroom door, but paused in the doorway and looked back at her friend. "Don't worry, Lily. Everything will be okay. I just know it!" With one last look at Lily to make sure she was okay, Jenny left the tour bus.

Lily then headed into her bunk, curled up into the fetal position ironically enough, and cried.

"Well, now I just feel bad. I ruined everything for you _and_ I made you cry!" Scott said.

Lily shook her head. "Please don't feel bad. I was just so young, and I wasn't ready to have a baby yet. However, I loved you the moment I figured out what I was going to do with you. I promise. I was just worried about not being able to provide for you, and about not being able to be with Rufus. But everything worked out for the best, didn't it?"

Scott nodded. "I guess so."

Lily got up off the couch and ran over to Scott. She hugged him tightly. "I love you. I don't regret having you for even a second! You know that, don't you?"

Scott hugged her back, and smiled. "I know."

Lily kissed his cheek, and he kissed her cheek in return.

"And if, she never got pregnant with you, she never would have had anything to lie to me about and leave me for, and therefore, I never would have had Dan and Jenny!" Rufus added.

"Darn!" Eric and Chuck both said, snapping their fingers.

Scott and Serena both laughed, and Jenny and Dan just shot Eric and Chuck a nasty look.

Lily smiled at Scott, and gently stroked his cheek before going to sit back down next to her husband on the couch.

Rufus put his arm around her, and she continued. "After I was done crying, I called the only person I knew could help me—my mother."

Lily had picked up her cell phone and set it down four times before she finally called her mother.

"Hello?"

Lily took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "Hello, Mother. Look, I don't know how to say this, so instead of dancing around it, I'm going to just come out and say it. I'm pregnant, and I don't know what to do about it."

Cece was quiet for a moment before responding. "Does Rufus know about it?"

Lily bit her bottom lip. "No. I decided to call you first, because I don't know what to do. I'm scared."

"Didn't you use protection?" Cece asked.

"I used birth control, but I know we both know it's not a hundred percent effective," Lily answered.

"Well, I know you're not aborting it," Cece stated.

Lily nodded, then remembered her mother couldn't see her nod. "You're right; I'm not."

Cece sighed. "I don't think you should tell Rufus."

"Why not?" Lily asked.

"Because he's a young rockstar who is just starting his career. Do you really think he wants to have a baby _now_?" Cece asked.

Lily was quiet for a moment. "He might."

"Oh sure, he'll pretend to be happy about it. But, on the inside he'll always regret you for it. A baby is going to be a big block in his career. He's going to need to spend time with the baby, or at least feel he needs to—not to mention take care of you while you're pregnant. He wont be able to concentrate on his career, therefore ruining it not only for himself, but his bandmates as well. Do you really want to be responsible for that?" Cece asked.

Lily sighed, suddenly a little angry. _Since when did her mother care about Rufus' career?_ Lily decided to ask Cece just that.

"I don't, really, but I know _you_ do. I'm just trying to help you see the whole picture," Cece stated.

"So what do you expect me to do then, Mother. Hm? He's going to eventually notice I'm pregnant. And I'm not telling him it is another man's baby, so forget it!" Lily snapped.

"I never told you to do that!" Cece insisted.

Lily shook her head. "Yeah, well, I know how your mind thinks."

Cece sighed. "Here's what we're going to do. I have a friend who works at a sanatarium in France. She is an old friend of mine. I know she'll let you live with her until you have the baby, and I know she can pull some strings and let you have the baby at the sanatarium. Believe it or not, they have patients who are pregnant when admitted, and give birth there. So, you can have your baby there, and they will remain discreet. Nobody besides them and us need to know you ever had a baby. After that, the baby can be put up for adoption. I can look around here while you're gone, and find a nice family for him or her."

Lily rolled her eyes. "A sanatarium, Mother? Really?"

"It will be discreet. Rufus will never have to know," Cece said, not even a hint of humor in her voice.

"You know what? I shouldn't have even called. I need to just tell Rufus. He'll be ecstatic. We'll work something out. He'll want to keep it, and raise it with me. It won't affect his career. You just don't like him, so you're trying to get me out of his life—that's all!" Lily was angry now. She should have known not to call her mother! She suddenly felt so stupid.

"Suit yourself, Lily. But don't come crying to me when you tell him, and things don't turn out the way you fantasized they would." Cece's tone had gone from serious to uncaring.

Lily clenched her hand harder on her phone. "Don't worry, it won't come to that. Goodbye, Mother." She clicked off the phone, and let out a cry of frustration. Rufus would be _thrilled_ she was going to have a baby! She knew he would! Her mother was just being a bitch.

Lily suddenly felt better. With a smile, she grabbed one of her smoking hot concert outfits (she figured she might as well wear them now while she still could), and headed into the bathroom to change into it. She would tell Rufus tonight after the show. He would be _so_ happy. She just knew it! Forget Cece and what she had said. What did _she_ know anyway?


	13. Chapter 13

_**Need You Now**_

_**Chapter 13: True Love Will Always Prevail**_

"Are you more awake now?" Rufus asked Lily, his arm instantly going around her when she appeared back stage.

Lily nodded. "I just needed a nap."

Rufus' eyes got that desire-filled look in them again as he eyed her up and down. He brought his lips to her left earlobe and gently sucked it. "Mm, I hope you saved some energy for tonight, because that outfit is making me want to rip your clothes off and take you right here and now."

Lily smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I have plenty of energy to romp with you all night."

Rufus moaned, then kissed her.

"So, did Allison have her paws all over you at the meet n' greet?" Lily asked after a particularly good kiss.

"Surprisingly, she wasn't there!" Rufus said.

Lily grinned. "Really?"

Rufus nodded. "Really! Maybe she didn't get tickets for tonight. It's sold out tonight after all." He kissed her cheek, his hand on her back.

Lily smiled. "Hm. This day is getting better by the moment!"

Rufus' eyes lowered again. "And it will be fantastic come tonight."

Lily licked her lips and nodded, then kissed him again.

Soon after, Rufus had to go onstage, so he went with his band while Jenny, Billy, and Lily took their seats up front.

"Did you decide what you want to do yet?" Jenny murmured in her ear as they headed for their seats.

Lilly nodded, and smiled at her friend. "Yes. I'm going to tell Rufus tonight after the show."

Jenny clapped her hands and smiled. "Aw! I just know he's going to be thrilled, Lily. I'm going to be an aunt! Well, sort of since we're like sisters. I'm so glad!"

Lily giggled, and put her finger to her lips. "Sh!"

Jenny nodded, and pretended to zip her lips. "My lips are sealed—for once." Of course she and Lily were the only ones who got the true meaning of the joke.

They both burst into laughter, then settled in to watch the show, ignoring Billy's question about what they were laughing about.

Lily was so glad that Allison was indeed a no show at the concert. She had been worried that Allison would show up after the concert to flirt with Rufus, but she was still nowhere to be scene. Lily took it as a good sign.

"So, do you want to go get a drink with Jenny and I at the club?" William asked Lily, coming up behind her and hugging her from behind.

Lily sighed. "William, please get your hands off me. I appreciate your friendship, but you're really making me uncomfortable."

William held his hands up."I'm sorry. I'm just a touchy-feely kid of guy."

"I've noticed," Lily quipped.

"As have I," Jenny said; not sounding amused.

Billy held his head down low. "Sorry."

"Rufus and I are just going to go back to the hotel while everyone else is in the club, but thank you for the offer," Lily said.

Billy looked disappointed, but nodded. "Have fun tonight then. I'm sure you will. Then again, it's with Rufus, so who knows?"

"I heard that!" Rufus said, coming over, and wrapping his arms around Lily from behind.

Lily placed her hands overtop of Rufus' and smiled up at him.

They kissed.

Billy shrugged. "Oops!" He didn't sound at all like it was an accident. He turned to Lily, and nodded towards Rufus' arms around her from behind. "Sure, _he_ can do it!"

"Rufus is my _boyfriend_, Billy," Lily said, trying to be polite. "I think you sometimes forget that."

Billy shook his head. "No, I don't. I just don't care."

Rufus glared at him and started to move forward, as if to throttle Billy, but Lily held him back.

"Let's go, Billy." Jenny said sternly. "See you tomorrow, Lily!" Jenny said. She and William were staying at a nearby hotel. Lincoln Hawk would be staying the night at the hotel too since they had another show the next night.

Lily nodded. "Have fun!"

Jenny smirked. "You too. Though, I'm sure you will."

Rufus grinned, and wriggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Good luck!" Jenny mouthed to Lily when no one was looking.

Lily mouthed back "Thanks" and smiled in return.

"So, do you want to get back to our hotel room now?" Rufus asked, his eyes lowered, and his forehead resting against Lily's as he pulled her closer.

"Mm, you know it!" Lily said with a smile.

They grinned at each other, then practically ran hand-in-hand to the hotel, giggling most of the way.

"Mm, that was amazing," Lily said with a smile, and she and Rufus lay in each other's arms after their lovemaking.

They kissed, and Rufus grinned at her. "Mm, it sure was."

Lily hadn't had the chance to talk to Rufus about the baby yet. He hadn't given her much chance to talk at all actually. Not that she was complaining. She decided now would be a good time to bring it up. She placed a hand over his chest and gently rubbed it. "How long do you see us lasting, Rufus?"

Rufus smirked at her. "Well, I usually last five minutes at a time, but if you weren't so darn beautiful, I might be able to last longer."

Lily gently swatted him. "You know what I mean!"

Rufus smiled, and brushed some hair off of her neck. He gently kissed her neck. "I can't see myself ever living without you. I'll put it that way."

Lily smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I feel the same way about you."

Rufus kissed her lips.

Lily kissed him back before trying again. "Do you want to have kids with me?"

Rufus smiled. "One day, sure. I love kids!" He kissed down her neck again. "Especially ones we would have together."

Lily grinned. "Really?"

Rufus nodded, and kissed her neck again. "Really."

Lily felt her heart pound with excitement. He wanted kids with her! She _knew_ her mother was wrong!

He continued. "I mean, of course now we're both far too young to even think about kids. We're not even engaged yet! I want to concentrate on my career first before settling down. Though, when I do, I know you're going to be the one I settle with. And of course, settling down yet or not, you're the only girl I'm ever going to be with."

And there is was. He had crushed her spirits as quickly as he had raised them.

Lily put on a smile, even though it was the very last thing she felt like doing. "Yeah, we're both so young still."

Rufus kissed her lips, and gently stroked her cheek. "But one day, I definitely want to have a baby with you—or _babies_."

Lily smiled again, and he straddled her, kissing her passionately. "Mm, I'm ready for another five minutes."

Lily grinned, a little more sincerely this time, even though her heart was breaking. "Mm, sounds good to me." She brushed her lips against his right ear. "Why don't we try for even longer this time?"

His eyes darkened, and he moaned. "Not helping."

They grinned at each other, and began to make love again.

Lily inwardly sighed. Maybe he would change his mind once he found out she was pregnant. She would give telling him another shot. But that could wait. Right now, all she wanted to do was make love with him, and let all her troubles melt away until the next morning. Then she would deal with them. She would.

The next morning, Lily woke up to hear Rufus talking with his bandmates in the hall.

She was going to head to the bathroom, but she stopped when she heard something that caught her ear.

"I just ran into the cutest little baby. She put her chubby little hands out to me and wanted me to hold her. It turns out, her mother is a big fan of ours, and the baby recognized me from the posters she has around the house," John said. "It was so cute! The kid looked to be no older than two, but she still recognized me."

"Aw! That's sweet. I want to have children one day. I'd have to find a girlfriend first though. Ha ha..." Lily was pretty sure that one came from Jerry.

"It's funny you guys are talking about kids. Lily was just asking me if I ever wanted to have kids with her," Rufus stated.

"And what did you say? Man, if a girl ever asked me that, I'd be out the door so fast!" That one was definitely Bobby.

"I told her I definitely want kids with her—just not right away," Rufus answered.

"We are way too young to have kids right now. Our career is just starting! Why would any of us want to ruin it with a kid right now?" Andy asked.

"I agree. I told her almost the same thing. Well, I was more polite of course. She agrees with me though, so there's no problem." That last one was Rufus.

Lily covered her mouth to muffle a sob. Well, there she had it. Rufus most definitely didn't want his life being ruined by a kid right now. She didn't even need to ask him again. Her mother had been right. It figured, the one time Cece was right, it had to be about something that would break Lily's heart.

With tears in her eyes, Lily grabbed her cell phone from the bed stand, then headed into the bathroom. She dialed up her mother's number, and kept her voice low.

"Hello?"

"Mom, you were right. Rufus doesn't want kids. Thankfully I found out before I told him about the baby." Lily sniffled.

Cece was silent for a moment before speaking. "I'll start making the arrangements. Are you going to finish off the tour?"

Lily shook her head even though her mother couldn't see her. "No. I think it's best I leave tonight before I change my mind about telling him. Jenny and Billy are leaving on the red eye tonight. I was thinking I could try to get out on that flight with them."

"Sounds like a plan. I will see you tomorrow then," Cece said somberly.

"See you then," Lily agreed, trying not to cry.

Cece sighed. "Lily? It's going to be all right. I promise. You're doing the right thing."

Lily tried her best not to cry. "I hope so." She clicked off the phone, then striped down to nothing, and hopped into the shower. She turned the water on as warm as she could stand it, then began to sob as the water ran down her face.

Wile Rufus was busy with meet n' greets and store appearances, Lily went with Jenny to the airport. Thankfully, there were still seats available on Jenny and William's flight, and she was able to buy a ticket.

They then hailed another taxi, and headed back to the hotel.

"So, I'm surprised Billy stayed back at the hotel. Usually he is everywhere you are," Lily said to Jenny on the way back.

"Yeah, well, that was before we broke up," Jenny stated.

Lily looked at her. "Wait, what?"

Jenny nodded. "I caught him flirting with these trashy looking girls at the club last night when I came out of the bathroom. It was the last straw. He's been flirting with other girls a lot lately no matter how many times I tell him I don't like it. He has a wandering eye that obviously can't be cured by me. I also got tired of him constantly hitting on _you_."

Lily blushed. "Jenny, you must know, there is nothing going on between him and I. I love Rufus, and—"

Jenny cut her off. "Oh, I know that. It's _him_ that can't be trusted. I've had enough. I can do much better."

Lily nodded. "Well, good for you! I'm proud of you."

Jenny smiled. "Thank you! Now, how about you? Are you sure you just want to leave Rufus like that? You never know. You might be surprised. He could be thrilled!"

Lily shook her head. "No. You didn't hear what he said, or the way he said it. Kids are definitely not a desire of his right now."

"Well, I still think you should at least tell him," Jenny stated.

"No!" Lily gently grabbed Jenny's arm, and looked her in the eyes. "You have to promise me you wont tell him."

Jenny sighed, looking from her arm to Lily's face. "You're my best friend, and it's not my place. Of _course_ I'm not going to tell him. I promise!"

Lily nodded, and released Jenny's arm. "Thank you."

"It doesn't mean I like it!" Jenny stated.

Lily nodded, then looked out the window, trying to fight back the tears again. "I know."

"So, did you find anything cool at the mall?" Rufus asked with a grin, once he had Lily in his arms again. Lily had told him she and Jenny were going to the mall.

Lily shook her head and smiled. "Na, nothing really."

"Wow, you didn't by anything? I think I'm gonna have a heart attack!" Rufus placed a hand over his heart for emphasis.

Lily laughed, and gently swatted him. "Shut up!" She kissed him hard, and he moaned.

"Mm, make love to me," she ordered.

Rufus smiled. "Now? But I have a show to do in an hour, and we haven't even eaten yet."

"Now. Please." She pulled him closer to her, and kissed him harder yet.

His eyes lowered, and he moaned. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

They undressed each other, and he kissed every inch of her body. "I love you," he said, his lips brushing against her ear.

"I love you too," she said in a whisper.

He kissed her again, then began to make love to her.

Lily clung tightly to him, and looked away so that he wouldn't see the tears streaming down her face. _This is the last time we'll ever make love_, she thought. It made her heart hurt so much, she wouldn't have been surprised if it were _she_ who had the heart attack.

She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, then took his face between her hands and kissed him hard.

He moaned, and they continued to make love passionately.

When they reached their climaxes, Lily never wanted it to end. Never again would she experience this with him. Her heart would never be the same.

He smiled at her; completely oblivious to her inner turmoil. "Mm, I think that was the most incredible time yet!"

She grinned at him, as much as it pained her to do so. "Mm, yes it was." _It _had_ to be good. It was our last time._ The thought shattered more of her heart.

"I guess I better go get ready now." He kissed her. "I'm sorry to make love to you and leave, but you _had_ to have it right now." He kissed her again and grinned. "We can continue this tonight after the show.

Lily hid her tears. Instead, she nodded and smiled. "Sounds good."

"With one last kiss, he grabbed some clean clothes, then headed into the bathroom to shave, shower, and change.

Lily then buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.

When she was able to stop crying, Lily wrote Rufus a goodbye letter. She then folded it up and stuffed it in her purse. She would ask Jerry to give it to him once she was gone.

It had hurt her heart with every lie she had to write in it.

That night at the show, Allison was back. She was right in the front row, eyeing Rufus up and batting her eyelashes at him as she danced in a pair of leather pants and a half top. It made Lily sick.

Rufus kept his eyes on Lily though, which made Lily happy and sad all at the same time.

After the show, Rufus and the band had another meet n' greet back stage. Of course, Allison was there as well.

"Hey, Rufus!" Her hand was over his shoulder now. "I'm sorry I wasn't there yesterday, but I was sick. I'm better now."

"I'm glad to hear that. What was wrong?" Rufus asked with concern.

"I got food poisoning from some bad sushi. It was awful!" she said. "Being sick was the only thing that could keep me from seeing you though."

Rufus grinned. "Why, thank you! And I'm glad you are better, and able to see me tonight."

Lily watched the scene, suddenly feeling like she had just had some bad sushi herself. She couldn't take it any longer. She headed over to Jerry, took out the note from her purse, and handed it to him. "Hey, Jer, can you please give this to Rufus in two hours?"

Jerry took it from her. "Sure, but why can't _you_ just give it to him? And why two hours?"

Lily smiled. "Because I don 't want him to read it until I'm ready for him to. It's a surprise." She winked.

Jerry grinned. "Oh! I get ya! You're right. He'd totally read it early if you gave it to him. No worries. I'll give it to him."

Lily smiled, and gently placed a hand over his shoulder. "Thanks, Jer. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Lily," Jerry said.

Lily smiled at him longingly, then took off. She was going to miss them all! She sighed. It was time for the hardest part—saying goodbye to Rufus. She took a moment to regain her composure, then she sighed before heading over to him.

"Rufus, My love, I'm a little tired, so I'm going to go back to the hotel and rest up while I wait for you," she said.

Rufus looked at her with concern. "Are you all right? Do you want me to come with you?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm fine! I'm just really tired, so you finish the meet n' greet, then we can finish what we started earlier." She placed her arms over his shoulders and grinned.

He grinned too, and kissed her.

She pulled him in for yet another kiss. "I love you," she said, looking into his eyes and using all of her strength not to let her eyes tear up.

He gently stroked her cheek. "I love you too, Lil. I'll be there soon, okay?"

She nodded "Take your time."

She stroked his face and looked at him longingly. She then kissed him one last time. It took her a few seconds to take her eyes off his face. She wanted to take him all in; remember him so that she'd never forget him. Though, she knew that forgetting him was impossible. She could never forget Rufus. Not ever!

She then took her eyes from Rufus' face, turned on her heels, and left to find Jenny.

"You all right?" Jenny asked, coming up to her and putting her arm around her.

Lily shook her head, and placed an arm around Jenny in return. "No!" she sobbed. She rested her head on Jenny's shoulder.

"Sh..." Jenny soothed as she walked Lily to a cab. "It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not," Lily whispered as she got into the cab with her. "It's never going to be okay again."

Jenny had helped Lily quickly pack her things. Then they got Billy from his room, and the three of them took another cab to the airport.

An hour later, they were boarding he plane, and ten minutes later, they were in the air.

Lily looked out the window, tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know what Rufus did to you, Lily, but I'm here for you if you ever need me," Billy told her.

"Thanks, Billy," Lily said without emotion. "But it's not Rufus; it's me."

Billy didn't know what to say to that, so he decided to check out the airline stewardess' butt instead.

Jenny rolled her eyes at him, then rested her head on Lily's shoulder.

Lily smiled at her friend. It was Jenny's way of being there for her without talking to her when Lily didn't want to talk. Jenny knew her so well. Lily knew that was why they were friends.

With a sigh, she looked out the window, and thought of the letter she had written to Rufus. She remembered every word.

"Hey, has anyone seen Lily?" Rufus asked his bandmates once he couldn't find Lily on the tour bus or in her room.

"Did you check the tour bus?" Bobby asked.

Rufus nodded. "Yeah! I checked everywhere."

"Maybe she went to get something to eat or something," John suggested.

"I thought of that, but she said she was tired, and wanted to take a nap," Rufus stated.

"Here. Lily asked me to give you this," Jerry said, handing the letter to Rufus.

Rufus took the letter, and looked at him. "What does it say?"

Jerry shrugged. "I don't know! I don't read other people's letters. Read it and find out! I think she has a surprise for you." He raised his eyebrows up and down and grinned suggestively.

Rufus grinned at his friend, then opened the letter. The grin fell from his face as soon as he started to read it.

_Rufus, My Love, I'm sorry to write this to you in a letter, but I knew you wouldn't let me go if I told you face-to-face. I hate tour life. I know I should have been honest with you, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings. _

_ Billy has been so good to me. He and Jenny broke up because they fell out of love with each other. Not only that, but Billy told me told me he is falling in love with me. I don't know if he and I will become an item or not, but I think he and I are better suited for each other than you and I are. I love you more than you'll ever know, Rufus, but you and I just live two entirely different lives. We come from two different worlds. Billy and I are more alike. I really think that in time, Billy and I could really be something to each other more than friends. _

_ I'm sorry I have to do this to you Rufus, but I felt it was best to do it now rather than later. I don't want you falling any harder for me. I never want to see you in pain, Rufus, and I'll never be able to forgive myself for the pain I'm putting you through now. I'll always love you, Rufus. I need you to know that. I'm just so sorry we can't be together in the way you want. _

_ I'm leaving with Jenny and Billy back to New York now, but don't expect to see me when you get back. I'm going out of town for a while. Maybe I'll study abroad somewhere. I don't know. I just need time to figure my life out and figure out who I am, you know? You can understand that, right? Good luck with your extended tour. I know it will happen for you. Tell the guys I said goodbye. I'll miss them. And goodbye to you, Rufus. I'll never forget you. Love, Lily_

Rufus had tears streaming down his face by the time he finished reading it. How could Lily do that to him? He thought she loved him! She had sworn to him that Billy meant nothing to him. How could she betray him like this? It was bad enough she was leaving him for a man she claimed not to love, but to do it in a letter? He hated her. He'd never forgive her. Never!

"Hey, guys! Guess what? I just got the word that the tour has indeed been extended! Congratulations! We're going to be starting off in Las Vegas on November third!" Jake said coming into the room then.

All but Rufus cheered. Rufus didn't feel like cheering at all.

"Hey, congratulations!" Allison said cheerily.

Rufus looked over at her. "Where did _you_ come from?"

Allison blushed, and smiled shyly. "I'm staying at the same hotel as you guys. I heard you guys were on this floor. I'm really happy for you guys! You deserve it! And you know I'll be at every show."

Rufus smiled at her. At least _someone_ was there for him. "Hey, do you want to go get something to eat or...something?"

Allison smiled at him. "Really? What would Lily think of that?"

Rufus' eyes darkened. "She's not here anymore, and I really don't want to talk about her. Do you want to go or not?"

Allison smirked. "Of course! Let's go." She boldly took his hand in hers.

Rufus looked at her hand, then sighed. He crumpled up the letter in his free hand, and tossed it into the garbage. He then squeezed her hand with his other hand, and led her down the hall. If Lily had gotten over him so fast, then he could certainly get over her!

Allison smirked to herself.

"Don't worry, Lily. Everything is going to be all right. You leave tomorrow morning. I booked you the flight. I'm going with you. I won't stay the whole time, but I'll get you settled in. You're doing the right thing," Cece said the second Lily entered the house.

Lily pushed past her. "Mother, can we please just talk about this tomorrow? I'm exhausted now, and not in the mood besides."

"All right, but you need to be up by eight! We have an eleven o'clock flight!" Cece called out.

Lily went into her room, slammed the door, threw herself down onto her back on her bed, and closed her eyes, letting the tears stream down her cheeks.

Who would have ever thought she'd be back in this bed? Let alone be back in it pregnant with no intent on ever being with Rufus again.

She turned on her side and buried her face in her pillow. Rufus must hate her now, she knew. The thought made her begin to sob even harder, the remaining pieces of her heart shattering like glass. She would never love again the way she loved Rufus. Never! Not ever. She sobbed even harder yet, wishing she'd just die.

"And that's pretty much the end of the story!" Lily said. "I took the flight out the next morning, and that was that."

"Aw, but that's so sad!" Jenny said with a pout.

Lily smiled, and gently rubbed her husband's thigh. "Well, in the end it didn't end there."

Rufus nodded. "Yeah. We found our way back together again." He kissed her.

Lily moaned, and kissed him back.

"So, how did I get from France to here?" Scott asked. "I mean, I know I ended up in Boston when I was two. My dad got transferred. But I'm not sure how I got from France to here."

"My mother went through an agency, who placed you in a private adoption. Your parents ended up getting you through them. We weren't told who adopted you. It was better that way," Lily explained.

"And, looking for you is what brought us back together," Rufus said to Scott, his arms wrapped around Lily's waist now.

Lily smiled at Rufus, and they touched noses before kissing.

"Did you think of Rufus at all while you were in France?" Serena asked.

Lily nodded. "Every day! So may times I almost called him or wrote to him. I'd call my mother when I felt the urge to do so, and she'd always talk me out of it."

"And why didn't you contact him when you got back to New York?" Dan asked.

Lily shrugged. "By then, I found out he had gotten serious with Allison. I figured he still hated me, and I didn't want to hurt him anymore, so I let him be. Then, shortly after that, I ran into Billy, we started talking, and the rest is history."

"What happened to Jenny?" Chuck asked.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. My mother wouldn't let us talk. She was afraid Jenny would spill something to Rufus on accident. I tried calling Jenny once behind my mother's back, but her cell phone and home numbers had been changed. I arrived home to find that she and her mother were no longer living in their house. It had been sold. There was no listing for them in the phonebook, so Jenny was just another thing I lost because of my mother. I've forgiven Cece, but it took me a while to. I could have said no, so it was my fault too. I couldn't really let her take _all the_ blame."

"Well, I'm glad you and Rufus found your way back to each other, because you two are perfect for each other!" Eric said.

Lily and Rufus grinned at each other. "I know!" they said in unison, which caused them to grin even wider.

"And now I love you even more than the day I first laid eyes on you, if that's possible," Rufus told Lily.

Lily's eyes lowered. "And I love _you_ even more than when I first laid eyes on _you_, My love!"

They kissed some more.

Rufus gently began to push Lily onto her back on the couch. "Mm, baby we should try making Scott a baby sister." He gently ran a hand up her skirt.

"Rufus!" Lily protested, trying to feign annoyance, but her smile giving her away.

"Mm, remember the first time we made love since getting back together? _Wow_. Best yet. And it just keeps getting better and better, so why don't we make it better yet again?" he murmured in her ear.

"Um, yeah. I think now would be a good time to go. Let's go, Scott," Dan said, standing up.

Scott nodded, and got up as well. "I agree."

"Chuck, please let me stay with you. Their bedroom is right above mine!" Eric pleaded.

Chuck smirked. "Aw, but I wanted to stay and watch." He stood up. "All right. You may stay with me. I'll give you all a ride home. He nodded at Jenny and Serena. "You can have rooms in my hotel, free of charge. We'll let Rufus and Lily have their privacy."

Jenny stood up. "Thank God!"

Serena nodded, and got up as well. "Now _that_ I will agree with."

Rufus and Lily both grinned as their kids quickly went to their rooms, grabbed an overnight back filled with what they needed, then quickly left without so much as a goodbye.

"Thanks for the story, as gross as parts were. I'll see you tomorrow!" Scott called out.

"It was hot," Chuck added.

"Not!" Eric, Serena, Jenny, and Dan all chimed in.

Rufus and Lily said goodbye to their kids, smiles on their faces from the kids' comments.

Once the kids had gone, Rufus wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, and kissed her passionately. "Mm, my plan worked—they're gone. Wanna take this to the bedroom?"

Lily grinned. "Mm, you know it! But a baby sister for Scott? I don't know about that."

"Aw, come on. It will be fun trying at least!" Rufus said.

Lily grinned at him. "You know I can never say no to you." She rubbed her nose against his.

Rufus grinned. "I know. Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?" Lily asked with a grin.

"If you ever do get pregnant again, tell me about it this time—and I don't mean twenty years later. I want to know the second you know," Rufus stated, only half kidding.

Lily gently stroked the side of his face. "Like I could ever leave you again if I tried."

Rufus' eyes lowered, and he carried his wife up the stairs, making up for the twenty years they waited being apart and then some. Never again would he ever let her leave him. Not that she ever would. They needed each other too much. They needed each other now, tomorrow, and forever, and that was never going to change.


	14. Epilogue

_ Author's Note: I want to thank you all for all your reviews, and for reading this story. They are much appreciated, and I do read all my reviews. I love you guys! Please feel free to review again and tell me how you liked the ending! Your reviews make me wanna write more stories! :) Next up for me is a sequel to Collide. The title is pending, but look out for my pen name. Thanks again! -xoxo Rufly Girl_

_** Need You Now**_

_**Epilogue: Some Things Will Always Stay the Same.**_

Lily grinned as she hung up the phone.

"What are _you_ grinning about?" Rufus asked, coming into the kitchen, were Lily was standing there grinning. He grabbed her waist from behind, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Not that I'm complaining. I love seeing you happy." He kissed her neck.

Lily turned her face towards him, and smiled at him before kissing his lips. "It took two phone calls, but I finally was able to get Jenny's number!"

"Franklin?" Rufus asked.

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, Humphrey."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Smart ass!" Rufus said. He released his arms from around her, and sat down on one of the stools of the kitchen bar.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

Rufus chose to ignore that gesture. "So, who did you have to call? How did you have any idea how to find her?"

Lily sat down on the stool next to him, and faced him. "I remembered Jenny telling me how her mother planned to retire in Orlando one day. So, I called information and asked if they had a Melinda Franklin listed in Orlando, Florida. They did. So I called, and sure enough, it was Jenny's mother. I found out that Jenny now lives in Virginia Beach! She isn't married, but she has a daughter named Shelly. Can you believe it?"

Rufus smirked. "I never pictured Jenny as the type to have children."

Lily shook her head. "Me neither. Then again, I bet she would have said the same thing about me. Well, before I got pregnant with Scott anyway."

"So, her mother gave you her number I take it?" Rufus asked.

Lily nodded. "I'm going to call her now. Her mother said today is Jenny's day off, so she should be home, but she gave me her cell phone number too in case she doesn't answer her home number."

"Well, call her up! But, afterwards...." Rufus ran his hand up Lily's thigh and under her skirt. "I'm going to need you to come help me out with something in the bedroom."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, trying to keep her expression serious. "Can't one of the kids just help you?"

Rufus shook his head. "This is something only _you_ can help me with." He grinned, and ran his hand up a little further.

Lily licked her lips, then grabbed his arm, and gently pushed his hand away. "Oh! _Now_ I catch your drift. Mm, just let me call her, then I'll be more than happy to accommodate you."

Rufus kissed her. "Take your time, but try not to make me wait too long."

Lily kissed him back, her arms around his neck. "Don't worry. I won't make it any longer than an hour."

Rufus groaned, but decided to let her take her hour since it had been so long since she had talked to her best friend.

Lily kissed him once more. "Don't worry. It will go by fast."

Rufus' eyes darkened. "It' better." He kissed her again, then watched as Lily picked up the phone and dialed Jenny's number.

After a brief pause, Lily smiled. "Jenny? Guess who this is?"

"Lily Rhodes?"

Lily grinned even wider. "Humphrey now."

"Congratulations! You finally married your prince. I knew you two would end up together one day! Oh my gosh, Lily! It has been _too_ long! What the hell have you been up to?" Jenny sounded as excited as Lily was.

"She's been busy making love with me!" Rufus said with a grin, having picked up another line.

"Rufus Humphrey? I see you haven't changed a bit! I'm glad you finally dumped that skank." In loyalty to Lily, Jenny had never liked Allison either.

Rufus smirked. "I wised up and married the woman of my dreams. She married a loser too, so it wasn't _all_ my fault, you know."

Lily shook her head, but smirked nonetheless. She found Rufus' jealousy over Billy funny. She always had. Well, except for the times when it used to annoy her. Now, she just found it funny.

"And I _dated_ that idiot. I guess we all go a little insane sometimes," Jenny quipped.

"That we do," Rufus agreed. "Well, I'll let you two talk. It was good talking with you again, Jenny. By the way, I named my daughter after you since it was you who got Lily and I together in the first place."

"Aw! Really? I'm flattered! So, you and Lily have a little girl now?" Jenny asked.

Rufus shook his head, despite the motion being pointless. "No. Jenny is my daughter with Allison. Allison and I also had a son named Dan, who is nineteen. Jenny is seventeen."

"And Allison didn't have a problem with you naming your daughter after Lily's best friend, and for that reason nonetheless?" Jenny asked, sounding amused.

"I don't even think she remembered that your name was Jenny. And, of course I told her I just always liked the name. I didn't give her a reason why. She got to name Dan anyway, so it was my turn to name one," Rufus explained.

"Well, I'm touched. Thank you! I'll have to meet her sometime," Jenny said.

"Definitely," Rufus agreed. "Hope to see you soon!"

"Maybe in the summer for sure. Bye, Rufus!"

"I'd like that. Bye, Jenny!" Rufus hung up, then kissed Lily's cheek. Then, he nodded towards the stairs. "Don't be long," he mouthed.

Lily kissed him, then nodded with a smirk and a wink.

Once Rufus was up stairs, Lily went back to talking to her best friend.

"So, you and Rufus never had any more kids together? I take it he knows about Scott now?" Jenny asked.

"Yes," Lily answered. "My mother told him years later, and we went out to find him. He ended up showing up at our wedding. It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it when you come visit me!"

"Can't wait!" Jenny said. "So, what brought you and Rufus back together?" she then asked.

"Well, after having two kids with Billy, a nineteen-year-old girl named Serena, and a seventeen-year-old boy named Eric, I had two short marriages hardly worth mentioning. Then, I met a man named Bart, and shortly after we met, got engaged to him. I was engaged to him when Rufus and I started talking again. It didn't take long for Rufus and me to get close again. I actually slept with him the night before my wedding," Lily explained. "Rufus was divorced by then."

"Oh my gosh! Then why did you marry that other guy?" Jenny asked.

Lily sighed. "Oh, I don't know. It was complicated. Bart got into a car crash and died shortly after, so it wasn't a very long marriage either. I had planned on leaving him for Rufus before that, but fate stepped in before I got a chance to. I'm kind of embarrassed to say this, but, we got back together practically before Bart was even cold. Looking for our son brought us back together."

"Aw! Well, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. You and Rufus had history. You never should have broken up to begin with," Jenny stated.

"I never should have married Bart to begin with," Lily corrected.

"Yeah, well, we all make mistakes," Jenny assured her. "What matters is that you and Rufus are together now. So, do you think you're going to have another baby together?"

Lily smiled at the thought, and placed her hand over her stomach. "Rufus wants to. I don't know. I might warm up to the idea."

"I think you guys should! It would be so cute!" Jenny cooed.

Lily, still smiling, rubbed her stomach. "Maybe. I do have another son yet. I adopted Bart's son, Chuck. He is nineteen as well. That's another long story."

Jenny whistled. "Dang, Woman! You have a lot of kids! What's one more though?"

Lily laughed. "We'll see! _Man_ you're pushy!"

"Always have been!" Jenny said proudly.

Lily laughed. "That you have!"

Jenny chuckled. "So, how did you get my number, by the way? I'm glad you did. I'm just curious."

"I remembered you said your mother waned to retire in Orlando, so I had information look up her name in Orlando. Then I got ahold of her, and she gave me your number," Lily explained.

"Well, I'm glad she wasn't remarried. You might have never found her then!" Jenny said.

Lily nodded. "I know, right? So, I hear you have a daughter now. I never would have penned you as the type to have kids."

"Neither would I," Jenny quipped with a giggle. "I was dating this guy I met—Tad—at a club. He had a motorcycle, and was sexy as hell. We had a few beers, and he took me home. We had a one night stand. We were both so drunk that we didn't even think about protection. Needless to say, he turned out to be a jerk. He skipped town when he heard I was pregnant, and I never saw him again. Oh well. At least one good thing came out of it. I love Shelley more than I ever imagined I could love someone. I'm dating another guy now. His name is Michael, and he is hot as hell! He is _so_ good to me! He treats me like a queen and Shelley like a princess. I really think he's going to propose soon."

Lily smiled. "It makes me happy that you're so happy."

"Right back at ya, Babe!" Jenny said.

"So, how old is Shelley now?" Lily asked.

"She's ten. She looks just like a little mini version of me. Everyone who sees us says so," Jenny said proudly.

"Well, then she must be smoking hot!" Lily said.

"She totally is!" Jenny agreed.

They both laughed.

"I really missed you, Lily," Jenny said. "I wanted to get ahold of you, but your mother was tight lipped—in more ways than one."

Lily burst out laughing. Jenny was the same old Jenny with her jokes. "You're disgusting."

"I'm grinning," Jenny told her.

"Me too," Lily said. "But, in all seriousness, I tried to call you, but by then, you and your mother had moved."

Jenny sighed. "Mom decided she wanted a new life for us. She had never done it before because she felt bad tearing me away from you. But, once you were gone, she felt now was the time. We moved to Virginia Beach. I loved it so much that I went to college here. Mom decided then that it was time for her to move to Orlando like she always wanted to."

"If I had it to do all over again, I never would have let my mother keep me from Rufus _or_ you," Lily said, suddenly a little sad now that she thought of all the wasted time.

"But, if you hadn't done things the way you did, you wouldn't have your kids, and Rufus wouldn't have his," Jenny reminded her. "And I wouldn't have Shelley."

Lily nodded. "True. I guess everything happens for a reason."

"Indeed it does," Jenny agreed.

"So, do you think you'd ever move back to New York?" Lily asked.

"You know, I've actually been thinking about it! I'm kind of getting tired of Virginia Beach. Michael always said he'd be willing to move if he got a job somewhere else. Now that I have you in New York, I have a good incentive to move," Jenny said,

"That would be wonderful! You know, I don't have many friends now. I've just never been able to find a friend as good as you," Lily said truthfully.

"Well, what can I say? I am one of a kind!" Jenny said.

Lily smirked.

Jenny turned serious. "It's the same for me, Lily. I'm lonely without you."

"Aw! Right back at you, Jenny," Lily said.

"So, I'll definitely think about moving to New York. And, until then, I'll come for a visit. Maybe next month," Jenny promised.

Lily grinned. "I'll be looking forward to it! So, did you ever become a cosmetologist? I help Chuck run his father's business, but I really just sign papers and stuff. It's nothing too involved."

"I did, actually! I work in a salon, but my dream is to have my own salon in my house or something. Maybe when I move back to New York."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "So now it's 'when' you move back to New York?"

"Michael does what I tell him to do," Jenny said matter-of-factly.

"No wonder you love him—You're a match made in Heaven!" Lily stated.

"Exactly!" Jenny agreed.

They both laughed.

"Hey, remember that guy you used to date before Billy?" Lily asked. "Lars, was it?"

"The guy who thought his cat was an alien!" They both exclaimed in unison.

They burst into laughter.

"His pug looked like E.T. I could see him thinking the dog was an alien, but Mr. Fluffles? No way!" Jenny quipped.

They laughed even harder.

"E.T. phone home!" Lily said.

They laughed again.

The rest of their conversation lasted forty-five minuets, and they laughed and joked the whole time, reminiscing, and catching up on old times. Lily had really missed Jenny, and she knew that Jenny had missed her too. It was as if no time at all had passed. Lily could have kicked herself for letting so much time pass before looking Jenny up. But, what mattered was that she found her now, and was never going to lose touch with her again!

"Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm going to call you every day now that you gave me your umber you know," Jenny said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm going to call you if I don't hear from you," Lily warned.

"And _I_ wouldn't have it any other way," Jenny said.

Lily smiled. "Goodbye for now, my friend."

"Goodbye Sexy Chick!" Jenny said in her trademark joking manner.

Lily smiled, then hung up the phone. She sighed, still smiling. _Gosh_ she had missed that woman!

She headed up the stairs and into the bedroom. Rufus was sleeping.

She smirked, and stripped down to her lingerie. She then climbed into bed, straddled him, and gently blew into his ear.

This woke him up. He grinned at her. "You done talking?"

She nodded. "Now, I'm ready to play."

He grinned as she began kissing down the side of his neck.

He moaned, and tangled his fingers in her hair. He then moved in one swift motion so that _he_ was the one on top of _her_.

He took her face between his hands, and softly kissed her lips before speaking. "We're married now, so this time we can do it right. I really meant it when I said I wanted to make Scott a baby sister. We never got the chance to enjoy your pregnancy together. What do you say we give it another shot?"

Lily only needed to think about it for a second. She wanted this. She wanted her and Rufus to be able to have the baby they both deserved. And, this time, they _would_ do it right. She nodded. "Yes."

Rufus grinned. "Yes?"

Lily grinned as well. "Yes! Let's make another baby, Rufus. Though, I can't guarantee it will be a girl."

Rufus' eyes lowered and he kissed her. "Whatever it is, I'll love it almost as much as I love you."

Lily's eyes lowered as well, and she took her husband's face between her hands. "Likewise."

They kissed, and then went to work at making yet another one of their dreams come true, for their dreams had already started to come true the day they met each other. That and their love for each other was something that would never ever change.


End file.
